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“Every day for the next four
years, a property will be fixed up or torn down by the Land
Bank. Every single day,” said Kapszukiewicz, who is also the
Lucas County Treasurer. Kapszukiewicz added that the effort
has the potential to remove most of the most blighted
properties throughout Toledo by the year 2020.
Joining Kapszukiewicz today were
Senator Sherrod Brown and Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur, whose
efforts were instrumental in providing the federal dollars
being utilized by the Land Bank for this work, along with
Eileen Granata, chief operating officer for the City of
Toledo, who represented Mayor Paula Hicks-Hudson who was out
of town, and David Mann, president of the Land Bank.
The gathering was held in front
of two houses owned by the Land Bank on the 3900 block of
Hoiles Avenue in West Toledo: one that must be demolished
due to mold damage, and the other that has been renovated by
a Land Bank partner and will soon be re-occupied.
“More than 400 properties have
been renovated through the Land Bank since 2011. That’s
important because demolition and renovation are not an
either/or. Our neighborhoods need both to be successful,”
said Kapszukiewicz.
The Land Bank’s announcement
follows the recent Hardest Hit Funds award of $13.8 million
to the Land Bank, which was a higher award per capita than
any other county in Ohio. Lucas County received such a high
award in part because it has the lowest demolition costs
statewide, paying nearly 25% less than any other county and
stretching limited dollars even further for Toledo’s
neighborhoods.
“The Lucas County Land Bank is
doing phenomenal work for our neighborhoods, and leaders
across Ohio, including myself, know success when we see it,”
said Senator Sherrod Brown.
The Lucas County Land Bank is a
community organization dedicated to strengthening
neighborhoods and preserving property values by returning
vacant, abandoned, and tax-delinquent properties to
productive use. Since its inception in 2010, the Land Bank
has returned almost 2,000 vacant lots, residential homes,
and commercial properties to productive use and demolished
over 1,500 properties that were nuisances to the community.
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