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Published: 3/17/2011 - Updated: 1 year ago

Reutilization Corp. opens up with 10 properties in the bank

BY CLAUDIA BOYD-BARRETT
BLADE STAFF WRITER

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The paperwork's in place, the money's arrived, and now the Lucas County Land Reutilization Corp. has acquired its first 10 vacant and abandoned properties to market and resell.

"We are ready to roll," said county Treasurer Wade Kapszukiewicz, who chairs the land bank's board.

The nonprofit agency, one of only two "active" land banks in Ohio, aims to stem the deterioration of Toledo-area neighborhoods hit hard by foreclosures and declining property values. The bank will acquire vacant homes and lots that have become tax-delinquent and work with partner agencies to demolish or refurbish the properties and find alternative uses for them.

Mr. Kapszukiewicz said he expects the land bank to acquire 200 to 300 properties this year. Some will be vacant lots; others will be abandoned homes that need to be torn down. Homes in better shape will be renovated, he said.

The bank is funded by an increase in penalties for delinquent property taxpayers. The first batch of money -- $1 million -- arrived yesterday. Its second and final collection for the year likely will be about half that amount, officials estimated. Most of the money will go toward legal expenses associated with acquiring the properties, property demolition, and the salary for its single employee, executive director David Mann.

Of the first newly acquired properties, five will go to the community development corporation United North. These sites are four vacant lots and an abandoned structure, all in the area around Sherman Elementary in North Toledo. United North has been working to revamp the neighborhood for more than two years, building 48 homes for moderate and low-income families. The organization will use the acquired properties to build more homes, Terry Glazer, head of United North, said.

A vacant lot at 1438 Tecumseh St. in central Toledo is to be turned into a green space and community garden for the neighborhood. Three vacant lots on Airport Highway will go to the Lucas Metropolitan Housing Authority to help mitigate some flood problems for an adjacent property.

Finally, the land bank has acquired an abandoned home at 1044 Lincoln Ave. in Toledo's Englewood Historic District, which it hopes to repair and pass on to another community organization to sell or rent out. The three-bedroom, 1,731- square foot home needs major mechanical and cosmetic fixes after it was stripped by vandals, but land-bank officials say it is in good-enough shape to restore.

"The point is, if we don't act now, there will be a lot more than dry wall hanging down," Mr. Kapszukiewicz said. "That's why we have to act. That property will inevitably be demolished if we don't pounce on it."

The county's acquisition of properties has been facilitated by a change in law that allows the treasurer to take possession of vacant and abandoned homes and land within 14 months of the owner first defaulting on the property taxes. The process used to take between three and five years, but now the land bank can acquire the properties without waiting for them to go through a sheriff's auction.

The Lucas County Reutilization Corp. will make it easier and more affordable for community development organizations such as United North to acquire properties, Mr. Glazer said. Previously, the group had to go through a drawn-out process of negotiations and sheriff's sales before they could buy a property, he said. The land bank also sets low prices for the properties it sells. United North paid just $100 for each of the vacant lots.

"Anything that streamlines the process for property acquisitions and allows us to get these properties at an affordable cost is a great benefit to the neighborhood," Mr. Glazer said. "I do think if it's used strategically that [the land bank] can be very beneficial to the city."

Mr. Kapszukiewicz said once a use can be found for the properties, it can lift up whole streets or neighborhoods. He cited the success of the Genesee County Land Bank in Flint, Mich., after which Lucas County's is modeled. The award-winning initiative has taken ownership of thousands of abandoned or distressed properties, returning many to productive use and lifting area property values.

"This program isn't just about that one vacant or abandoned house," the treasurer said. "It's really about all the other properties on that street. ... If we can do this right, we can stop that decline in value."

With everything in place, the challenge is to find more people or organizations interested in taking ownership of the land bank's properties and putting them to good use. Land-bank organizers have been meeting with various community stakeholders, including churches, hospitals, banks, and community groups. In some cases land may also be offered to neighbors who can utilize it, Mr. Mann said.

He said that, although the bank has the power to manage properties itself, that option is not the best use of its resources or staff expertise. "The point of this is to be small and efficient enough to do good work in the community," he said.

Land-bank officials said they are meeting with banks to ask for donations of mortgage-foreclosed properties and are looking into acquiring unwanted property through the probate court and auditor's office.

Mr. Kapszukiewicz said he is confident the organization's efforts will begin to pay off in the next few years. "The status quo is unacceptable," he said. "This is not going to solve all of Toledo's problems. But it's impossible to convince me this is not going to make a little bit of a difference."

Contact Claudia Boyd-Barrett at: cbarrett@theblade.com or 419-724-6272.

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