Millions of our tax dollars are about to be funneled into cleaning up neighborhoods in Cuyahoga County. County Executive Armond Budish wants to remove 619 structures in 20 communities countywide.
Just take a right or left turn in Cuyahoga County and you will run into a vacant or abandoned property. There are thousands of them. So Cuyahoga County has decided to toss in $10 million to remove a small slice of the vacant property pie.
“I think the first round alone will clean out something like 10 percent of the blighted houses in our region, which is a big step forward,” said Budish.
“This first round of demolition will remove over 600 blighted, vacant and abandoned structures across the county, providing needed relief to our communities,” added Cuyahoga County Council President Dan Brady. “I’d like to thank the county executive and the county land bank for their support in making this program a reality, and I look forward to continuing the momentum that has already begun.”
| Community | Award Recommendation | Total Structures |
| Bedford | $425,000 | 8 |
| Bedford Heights | $405,000 | 10 |
| Berea | $300,000 | 3 |
| Brook Park | $380,000 | 38 |
| Cleveland | $992,240 | 73 |
| Cleveland Heights | $556,000 | 49 |
| East Cleveland | $1,000,000 | 107 |
| Euclid | $1,000,000 | 23 |
| Garfield Heights | $930,000 | 92 |
| Lakewood | $200,000 | 2 |
| Maple Heights | $908,000 | 89 |
| Newburgh Heights | $525,000 | 16 |
| Oakwood | $204,000 | 12 |
| Olmsted Falls | $25,000 | 1 |
| Parma | $116,400 | 8 |
| Richmond Heights | $100,000 | 3 |
| Rocky River | $304,250 | 4 |
| Shaker Heights | $885,000 | 20 |
| South Euclid | $400,000 | 40 |
| Warrensville Heights | $389,500 | 21 |
Warrensville Heights Mayor Brad Sellers, who attended the announcement in downtown Cleveland, believes the money is a valuable assist from the county.
“After the housing crisis, there was a lot of blight left around the neighborhoods that brought down property values, which has had a direct financial impact of just about everyone in the community,” said Sellers.
Additional money to tear down more properties is coming soon, but each city must meet a May 1 deadline to apply.
The county hopes after the removal of the blight, developers will move in to help create stronger neighborhoods.
Read it from the source.