Source: REVITALIZATION: THE JOURNAL OF URBAN, RURAL & ENVIRONMENTAL RESILIENCE
Since its founding in 2012, the Portage County Land Bank—based in Ravenna, Ohio—has established itself as a strong force in the Portage County community.
In 2018, the Land Bank completed its first ARR project in Shalersville Township. The property was brought to the Land Bank’s attention by the Sheriff’s Department and local trustees, who wanted to see the property revitalized in order to benefit the surrounding neighborhood.
The Land Bank was able to acquire the property via tax foreclosure and to invest in its full rehabilitation. The property was then listed with a local real estate agent and sold in just a few days to a single-family property owner.
Neighborhood revitalization efforts normally require a large-scale, programmatic approach. But occasionally, the rehabilitation of a single problematic property can make all the difference. Such was the case here.
In an email to REVITALIZATION publisher Storm Cunningham, Brad Cromes, Portage County Treasurer, explained “This project was identified for us by the local Trustees and our County Sheriff as a problem drug house. By acquiring the parcel, fixing it up, and getting it to a new owner, we not only remediated the drug issue, but stabilized a block in a key neighborhood.”