We surprised a lot of readers last summer with our story about Rising Harvest Farms in Old Brooklyn. Who could imagine a 2.3-acre farm in the heart of the city? But with eight crop fields, 24 plots, a chicken coop… Read more ›

Activists, experts and people seeking to learn more about stalled and vacant foreclosures filled the tenth floor of The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland for the Getting Back in Gear Summit last month.  The topic was so popular that another… Read more ›

CLEVELAND – The City Mission, area churches and the Cuyahoga County Land Bank are teaming up to help single mothers eventually become homeowners. It’s called The New Horizons Permanent Housing Program. “The church owns the home, The City Mission is the provider of the… Read more ›

Once a property sits vacant for three or four years, people sometimes become accustomed to an eyesore in the neighborhood. They have their own problems to deal with, after all. Eventually the city will come along and raze it…right? Not… Read more ›

On a Thursday afternoon in mid-January, Cuyahoga Land Bank President Gus Frangos braved the bitter cold in a show of support to participate in a press conference announcing the launch of the Heritage Home Program in South Euclid. “The Land… Read more ›

How about this for a recipe for success? Take one of the Cuyahoga Land Bank’s houses. Add in the youth of King’s Sons 820. Liberally seasoned with workforce development and character building, and in the end you have a renovated… Read more ›

After 14 years at Cleveland Neighborhood Progress, neighborhood stabilization expert and valuable Cuyahoga Land Bank partner Frank Ford has taken the next step in his career by joining another expert in the field – Jim Rokakis – at Thriving Communities… Read more ›

On an unseasonably warm early December evening, neighbors, project partners, potential home buyers and the just plain curious gathered together at 1033 Argonne Road in South Euclid for the launch of South Euclid’s latest Idea House. A part of the… Read more ›

In 2007, Cleveland’s Slavic Village neighborhood saw the highest rate of foreclosure nationally, not so affectionately becoming known as the “ground zero” of the foreclosure crisis. Despite nearly 30 percent of the local homes standing vacant or abandoned, the Slavic… Read more ›

CLEVELAND – Samantha Paizs and her fiancé, John Hall, will soon move into a completely refurbished home in Cleveland’s Slavic Village neighborhood. It’s a house that is located on the same street where Paizs grew up. At one time, the… Read more ›

Bellaire Puritas Development Corporation (BPDC) is working with the Cuyahoga Land Bank and other community development corporations to make sure that abandoned homes end up in the hands of good owners.  In the Bellaire Puritas neighborhood of Cleveland, the Cuyahoga… Read more ›

We’ve seen neighborhoods transformed by demolitions in the past four years, with hundreds of properties “born again” as community gardens, green space, expanded yards, daycare centers, youth program centers and even a practice site for the local bomb squad. And… Read more ›

NHS of Greater Cleveland recently hosted a press conference at a home the Cuyahoga Land Bank deeded over to Kamm’s Corners Development Corporation to announce the availability of $3.7 million of down payment assistance available exclusively in the City of… Read more ›

While new development and urban gardens receive the most press when it comes to the beneficial reuse of vacant land, a large majority of recent applicants to the City of Cleveland’s Land Bank are homeowners who are interested in purchasing an… Read more ›

It’s an idea whose time has come: renovating foreclosed and abandoned homes instead of building new ones from the ground up. That’s the new vibe at Habitat for Humanity—and it makes sense in a city like Cleveland, where housing stock… Read more ›

The City of Berea, the Berea Community Development Corporation (BCDC), Cuyahoga County Department of Development and the Cuyahoga Land Bank have teamed up to redevelop the City of Berea’s north end. These organizations have worked collaboratively to encourage reinvestment in… Read more ›

Neighborhood Housing Services (NHS) of Greater Cleveland announced last fall the launch of the NHS Consumer Law Center – a new effort in consumer protection that will give consumers from Northeast Ohio and beyond the knowledge and confidence to pause… Read more ›

Ask Demond Taylor how he’s doing and you’ll get a cheery response: “The sun is shining and I’m employed,” he says, “so I’m doing great.” With his positive attitude, it’s no wonder Demond’s life is coming together in a big… Read more ›

The Cuyahoga Land Bank recently hosted a luncheon for members of the First Suburbs Consortium to discuss urban agriculture as a creative reuse strategy for vacant land. Cuyahoga Land Bank staff, representatives from Congresswoman Marcia Fudge’s Office, Berea, South Euclid,… Read more ›

Cuyahoga Landbank has partnered with Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA) to build two new buildings in the city with the Neighborhood Stabilization Program 2 (NSP2) money. A ground breaking was held this year for the Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD)… Read more ›

The Cuyahoga Land Bank partnered with the City of South Euclid, Purple Heart Homes and One South Euclid to provide a home for a combat wounded Iraq War veteran. Demond Taylor, who served our country from September 2001 to July… Read more ›

One of the great challenges of American society is the lack of support for veterans of our armed forces, including a shortage of quality, affordable housing. That’s especially true for those who return from war with disabilities-and the Cuyahoga Land… Read more ›

By: Jim Rokakis, Director and Vice President While S.B. 353 (passed in 2008) only allowed Cuyahoga County to establish a County Land Bank, H.B. 313 (passed in 2010) allowed any county over 60,000 in population to establish one as well.… Read more ›

Partner Feature: Career Development and Placement Strategies, Inc. (CDPS) Career Development and Placement Strategies, Inc. (CDPS) offers a unique approach to workforce and personal development training. With the support of our partners – the Cuyahoga County Landbank, The Cleveland Foundation,… Read more ›

It’s been a long time since Lawrence Taylor felt this excited about his future, but his new life is full of possibilities-and Cuyahoga Land Bank helped. His old life was pretty dismal: 35-year-old Taylor has been in prison three times.… Read more ›

Koinonia Homes Inc. (Koinonia), a private, not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization, provides Residential, Adult Day Support, Vocational and Career Services in Cuyahoga County to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and is the largest private provider of services throughout Cuyahoga County… Read more ›

The Cuyahoga Land Bank continues to be a strategic partner in South Euclid’s award winning (Crain’s Cleveland Business Emerald Award) Green Neighborhoods Initiative. This NSP grant-funded neighborhood revitalization program has performed five green retrofits of bungalows in South Euclid in… Read more ›

Q: What do you do with a small plot of land sandwiched between a family neighborhood and an industrial park? A: You grow vegetables for the needy, of course! Neighbors living near 422 Runn Street in Berea said they wanted… Read more ›

This year, Gus Frangos, President and General Counsel of the Cuyahoga Land Bank, was invited to participate in Lakewood Alive’s annual discussion about the state of the community. He joined a discussion panel, along with several other experts in urban… Read more ›

“Affordable housing” is no mere buzzword at Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization (DSCDO)-it’s a vital part of the group’s mission and the neighborhood’s personality. That is one important reason why DSCDO went after funding to restore the Sylvia building. “Affordable… Read more ›

Everyone can agree with the saying that if you do the crime, be prepared to do the time. The reality of it, however, is not everyone who enters the criminal justice system should or will serve time in jail. Jail… Read more ›

30 vacant homes and 10 vacant lots in Cleveland are getting a second chance at new life, thanks to critical assistance from the City of Cleveland and the Cuyahoga Land Bank. In March 2011, a project, being developed by the… Read more ›

Going to church should be an uplifting experience. Worshiping next door to a condemned property, however, tends to dampen the spirit. That was what the congregation faced when they attended services at St. Colman’s in the Detroit Shoreway neighborhood. The… Read more ›

We know that not every offender spends time behind bars. In many instances-either as a condition of the sentence, or because the person cannot afford to pay a hefty fine-many convicted offenders are sentenced to “community service.” But what, exactly,… Read more ›

Most northeast Ohioans are uncomfortably familiar with the visible and odious effects foreclosure, vacancy, and abandonment can have on neighborhoods. Indeed, the Cuyahoga County Land Reutilization Corporation was established in response to the growing vacancy and abandonment problems in the… Read more ›

Land banks exist to prevent blight and save neighborhoods, and one of their most effective tactics is buying multiple properties, thereby boosting a community’s stability. That was the situation in Euclid last spring, when the Cuyahoga Land Bank acquired four… Read more ›