This story was originally printed in Cleveland Action to Support Housing’s e-newsletter
The two bedroom house on West 122nd Street doesn’t look like much – the lawn is unkempt, the porch cries out for fresh paint and the front door is boarded up. Yet a closer inspection reveals a bevy of hidden charms, including leaded glass windows, oak floors and built-in cabinets.
Now, thanks to a new initiative has been launched by the nonprofit Cleveland Action to Support Housing (CASH), this bank-owned home in Cleveland will go from being an eyesore – and a symbol of the national foreclosure crisis – to something the neighbors can be proud of.
“Through fixing up and reselling foreclosed homes to new homeowners, we’re making a critical investment in the city of Cleveland’s neighborhoods,” says Marcia Nolan, Executive Director of CASH, a nonprofit organization with a thirty-year history of revitalizing neighborhoods through repair and rehabilitation lending. “This is a targeted response to the foreclosure crisis, which has created an oversupply of vacant homes, depressing values and discouraging investment.”
Initially, CASH’s foreclosure-rehab initiative will fix up two homes in west side neighborhoods. The pilot homes are located in Westown (near West Park) and Tremont, two stable communities where focused improvements can be used to leverage additional investment. CASH selected the homes based upon the opportunity to make an impact on the entire neighborhood.CASH will acquire and fix up the homes using stimulus funds awarded to the city by the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP). Once the homes are refurbished, they’ll be offered for sale to qualified buyers. Purchasers must earn less than 120 percent of Northeast Ohio’s annual median income to be eligible (approximately $54,000 for an individual). The rehabbed home at 3455 West 122nd St. will be priced at $70,000, making it affordable to a range of buyers.
The Cuyahoga Land Bank, a nonprofit that acquires foreclosed homes from lenders, has donated the homes to CASH. If successful, the group plans to expand the program next year, with the goal of rehabbing additional homes in several Cleveland neighborhoods.
These homes will be unveiled as affordable, green homes when the work is complete. Improvements slated for 3455 West 122nd St. include new siding, windows, garage, mechanicals, kitchens and bathrooms. Refinished wood floors and a master bedroom with his-and-hers closets are also part of re-do. And the front porch will finally get the scrape-and paint job it deserves.
“This house will be inexpensive to maintain, because it will be rehabbed to energy-efficient standards,” says Terry May, Construction Specialist with CASH. “We’re adding green features such as a high-efficiency furnace and insulation that will raise its R value to R-38.”
The foreclosed property in Tremont, a traditional, front porch Colonial at 2499 West 7th Street, will be renovated into a two bedroom, two and a half bath contemporary home featuring a functional, efficient floor plan, a master bedroom with adjoining luxury bath, and a sleek, modern kitchen.
The Westown home is located adjacent to Variety Village, an area of Lorain Ave. where focused investment, including renovation of the historic Variety Theatre into a multi-use venue for movies, plays and special events, is being led by Westtown Community Development Corporation. The Tremont home is located adjacent to the new, mixed-income Tremont Pointe development and a host of attractive neighborhood amenities, including Lincoln Park and Steelyard Commons.
For more information, please contact:
Marcia Nolan, Executive Director
Cleveland Action to Support Housing (CASH)
4001 Detroit Ave.
Cleveland, OH 44113
216/621-7350
[email protected]
Partner Feature: CASH Launches New Program to Fix Up and Sell Bank-Owned Homes to New Owners
