February 28, 2014 [WEWS]
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) has announced that $10,118,750 in Hardest Hit Funds (HHF) have been awarded to Cuyahoga County to demolish vacant and abandoned properties.
In August 2013, the U.S. Department of the Treasury approved a request to use $60 million of the state’s nearly $375 million remaining HHF to demolish vacant and abandoned properties.
Part of the Neighborhood Initiative Program (NIP), these funds represent a portion of the $570 million in Ohio HHF that Brown helped secure as a member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs back in 2010.
The money is available to Ohio counties with established land banks. The Cuyahoga County Land Reutilization Corporation is one of 11 land banks receiving first round funds through the program.
Others receiving money in the state include:
- City of Canton: $4,235,000
- Central Ohio Community Improvement Corporation: $5,825,000
- Cuyahoga County Land Reutilization Corporation: $10,118,750
- Lucas County Land Reutilization Corporation: $6,000,000
- Lorain County Port Authority: $3,005,000
- Mahoning County Land Reutilization Corporation: $4,266,250
- Montgomery County Land Reutilization Corporation: $5,055,000
- The Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority: $5,065,000
- Richland County Land Reutilization Corporation: $773,750
- Summit County Land Reutilization Corporation: $2,000,000
- Trumbull County Land Reutilization Corporation: $3,221,250
In a press release, Senator Brown said, “These demolition funds are a critical step forward in rebuilding Northeast Ohio neighborhoods devastated by the housing crisis. Our local communities need more resources to address the scourge of blighted properties that undermine surrounding property values, drain local resources, and threaten the safety and security of our neighborhoods. The Neighborhood Initiative Program will go a long way towards meeting that need and stabilizing local neighborhoods.