August 3, 2012 [Joe Noga, cleveland.com]
NORTH OLMSTED — The city will receive $50,000 in funds earmarked for demolition and removal of blight.
The money was made available through the Cuyahoga County Land Reutilization Corp. as part of a large mortgage fraud settlement won by Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine.
A dozen communities, including Lakewood, received grants through a selection process arranged by County Prosecutor Bill Mason’s office. Mason made $1 million in grant funds available for cities to request for demolition funding.
The county is eligible to receive up to $11.8 million from the settlement, provided it can match with local funds. Mason earmarked $1 million to select cities requiring blight removal or stabilization initiatives.
“We received some quality and very specific applications from our municipalities,” Mason said. “The targeted grants to these cities will assure that demolition funds are well spent, but also that cities in urgent need will get their share.”
The grants will be administered through the CCLRC which itself will engage in over 1,200 residential demolition projects throughout the County in the next eighteen months.
“The Land Bank is the best organization to administer these grants because of its exceptional business and procurement practices, as well as its cutting edge knowledge on land banking, environmental regulations and land repurposing,” Mason said.
Other communities receiving funds included Cleveland Heights, Euclid, Garfield Heights, North Royalton, Parma, Parma Heights, Shaker Heights, South Euclid, Newburgh Heights and Warrensville Heights.