The Cuyahoga County Land Bank and the City of Cleveland pledged $14 million toward vacant home demolition, and expect a match from the state foreclosure settlement coffers.
Ohio will receive $335 million from the $25 billion agreement with the top-five mortgage servicers.
The settlement was finalized last week to settle alleged foreclosure abuses and widespread documentation problems.
Ohio AG Mike DeWine said he would set aside $75 million in grants to clear vacant and dilapidated homes.
The Cuyahoga Land Bank demolished 750 of these properties in the greater Cleveland area since it opened in 2009. Officials said they expect to knock down another 700 in 2012 alone. The land bank, which accepts donated properties from Fannie Mae, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and some private banks, committed $5 million toward demolition efforts.
The City of Cleveland, which has funded 5,000 knock-downs since 2005, will pitch in another $4 million toward the AG settlement pledge.
“The Cuyahoga Land Bank, the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor and the City of Cleveland came together to determine what they could do to help guarantee that Cuyahoga County receives a substantial portion of this much-needed demolition funding in order to help address the large number of vacant, abandoned properties waiting to be demolished in our community,” the land bank said in a statement.
The April cover story of HousingWire Magazine details a new wave of demolition projects on the rise in Cleveland and across the country.
jprior@housingwire.com
