Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine last week announced guidelines for local communities interested in applying for the $75 million in demolition grants to help stabilize and improve communities by removing blighted and abandoned homes. Marion County has been allocated $459,359.
The funds are from the national mortgage settlement reached earlier this year by the attorneys general with five of the nation's largest mortgage servicers over foreclosure abuses, fraud and deceptive mortgage practices.
"Ohio's communities have been hit hard by the mortgage foreclosure crisis," said Attorney General DeWine. "The guidelines we are announcing today will begin the process of getting funds to local communities so that some of the problem properties can be demolished."
The total amount of funding available to each county is based on the percentage of foreclosure filings in each county between 2008-2011 (which is the time period of the settlement agreement) divided by the total amount of funding ($75 million). The grants will be awarded on August 1, 2012. Funds will remain dedicated to a county until December 31, 2013, the end of the first grant application period. The funds may be reallocated if no application is submitted or if funds remain unspent on eligible reimbursement projects.
According to DeWine, "One of the biggest things holding this state back from moving forward is the vast number of abandoned and vacant homes littering Ohio. They are blight on our communities, rotting them from the inside out. Our new grant program will help free our neighborhoods — urban and rural, alike – from the blight that is paralyzing them."
The Moving Ohio Forward Demolition Program will require that a lead entity, such as a land bank or local government, apply for the funds on behalf of each county in Ohio. The first round of grant applications, which can be downloaded from the Attorney General's website at www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/foreclosure, will be accepted between May 4, 2012 and June 30, 2012. After grant agreements are executed, demolition work must be completed by December 31, 2013.
While an exact total of abandoned homes is not available, conservative estimates place the number of vacant and abandoned properties in Ohio in need of immediate demolition at 100,000.
A goal of the Moving Ohio Forward Demolition Program is to maximize the number of demolitions of blighted and abandoned residential properties. Recognizing that many local governments are experiencing economic hardships, the program will not require a match for the first $500,000 allocated to each county. Counties will be required to provide a dollar-for-dollar match to receive any reimbursement request over their $500,000 allocation.
Local communities with questions regarding this program should contact the Ohio Attorney General's Office, Mortgage Foreclosure Unit, 30 E. Broad St., 15th Floor, Columbus, Ohio 43215, or email at [email protected].
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