Rep. Kaptur Celebrates $4.9 Million State Housing Initiative Support For Northern Ohio
Ohio Housing Finance Agency will address blighted, vacant properties in Cuyahoga, Lorain, Lucas counties
Toledo, OH – May 6, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — Today Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur celebrated the allocation of $4,968,105.61 by the Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) to assist Northern Ohio land banks through its Neighborhood Initiative Program (NIP). Cuyahoga County Land Reutilization Corporation will receive $2,699,071.83, Lorain County Land Reutilization Corporation will receive $269,033.78 and Lucas County Land Reutilization Corporation will receive $2,000,000.00.
“This initiative will go a long way to reducing blighted properties and stabilizing home values in communities across Northern Ohio,” said Rep. Kaptur. “This is an important step to begin the healing process in neighborhoods that were impacted by the recent economic downturn. Partnering with these three successful county land banks helps put these properties back into circulation, giving them a fresh start and getting the surrounding neighborhoods back on track. Thank you to the Ohio Housing Finance Agency and the U.S. Treasury Department for supporting these important initiatives.”
The maximum amount of assistance per property is $25,000 with an estimated average amount of assistance of $12,000. Awardees are responsible for all aspects of the property acquisition and removal as well as plans for greening and ongoing maintenance of the property. Nearly 800 blighted structures have been removed with more than 100 units pending approval as a result of the first and second rounds of funding; and more than 60 lots have been transferred and greened. Thus far, NIP has disbursed and reserved $10 million. At the current funding levels, OHFA expects to eliminate 5,500 vacant and blighted units by October 2016.
“Through blight elimination we have increased our impact to not only stem the tide of foreclosures in critical neighborhoods, but to proactively preserve homeowner equity and enable our communities to wholly recover from the effects of the foreclosure crisis,” said Doug Garver, executive director of OHFA. “NIP is not a deviation from, but rather an expansion of, our foreclosure prevention investment.”
