Friends, neighbors and volunteers gathered in September to celebrate the official opening of Bessie’s Place II, a permanent low-income housing opportunity for young ladies age 18-24 who have aged out of foster care. Bessie’s Place II is a collaboration between Bessie’s… Read more ›
Cuyahoga Land Bank President and General Counsel Gus Frangos presented an update on the new $30 million Cuyahoga County Housing Program to Cleveland City Council’s Development Planning and Sustainability Committee in early March. Read more ›
Jason Knauer Land Reuse Program Manager Date of Hire August 2015 Education B.S. in Urban Studies, University of Cincinnati Describe yourself in three words. Caring. Helpful. Witty. What motivates you in your work? I love getting out and talking with… Read more ›
Over time, by assembling larger parcels of land for specific, new development or for the purpose of creating green space or urban gardens and farms, the Cuyahoga Land Bank is providing a second life for property that has previously been deemed undesirable by its owners and overlooked as too challenging by developers. Read more ›
In February, the Cuyahoga Land Bank bid farewell to Lilah Zautner who will be returning to her environmental roots to become the Property Acquisition Manager for Watersheds at the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD). Lilah has served as the Manager of Special Projects and Land Reuse at the Cuyahoga Land Bank since 2013. Read more ›
The Cuyahoga Land Bank is a national leader in strategic blight removal and community development. It is an essential partner in administering the Cuyahoga County Property Demolition Program, which has eliminated over 2,000 blighted structures in under two years. The… Read more ›
Cuyahoga County Council recently passed legislation to launch the Cuyahoga County Housing Program, a $30 million, six-year effort to stabilize home values, eliminate blight and to encourage renovation and construction of affordable housing. The program will expand the efforts of the Cuyahoga Land Bank to include rehabilitation and housing market stabilization. Read more ›
Cuyahoga Land Bank staff recently rolled up their sleeves and lent a hand at a Thrivent Financial and Greater Cleveland Habitat for Humanity-hosted Pastor’s Build in the Buckeye-Shaker community Read more ›
Cuyahoga Land Bank Chairman Anthony Brancatelli was recently awarded the Inez Tillman Killingsworth Community Leadership Award by Empowering and Strengthening Ohio’s People (ESOP). The award is one of three given annually by the housing and financial counseling agency recognizing its community partners.
Firefighters put their lives in danger on the job every day, and one of the riskier events emergency responders face is rescuing people from collapsed structures. With no room for mistakes, training is especially important in preparing for this type of low-frequency, high danger situation. Read more ›
Court Community Service (CCS) is a not-for-profit agency that arranges community service work for adult offenders designed as a quality alternative sentencing option responsive to the needs of the courts and the community. Read more ›
Plans are underway for the 8th annual Ohio Land Bank Conference October 23-24 in Columbus. Presented by the Western Reserve Land Conservancy, the Ohio Land Bank Conference provides timely and essential information for land bank board members and staff, county and municipal… Read more ›
More than 1,000 urban, suburban, and rural leaders gathered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin May 15-18 for the Center of Community Progress’s eighth Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference (RVP), the only national conference of its kind. RVP explores the latest strategies to address vacant, abandoned, and deteriorated properties, providing space to showcase innovation and creating a forum in which new ideas can arise. It brings people together around these common challenges and gives them tools to return home and affect real, on-the-ground change. Read more ›
A vacant lot on Sackett Avenue in Cleveland’s Clark-Fulton neighborhood will soon be a haven for fresh produce for local residents. The new distribution center is a program of Baba Neem Karoli Satsang (BNKS), a non-profit church corporation doing business as Baba’s Yard, that brings awareness to the issue of hunger in America and manages free food distribution programs for the economically disadvantaged. BNKS recently purchased the land from the Cuyahoga Land Bank. Read more ›
Working Together for Solutions From case studies in community redevelopment to rehab strategies for vacant properties, the annual Western Reserve Land Conservancy’s 2017 Ohio Land Bank Conference offered up timely and essential information for land bank board members and staff,… Read more ›
At the root of the work of the Women’s Wellness Foundation, an all-volunteer, faith-based mission and ministry in Cleveland, is a profound belief in second chances. Often women who are reentering society after incarceration need help with struggles with substance abuse and lack of education and housing. Read more ›
It was a long road to demolition, but we are happy to have been a part of another terrific land reuse opportunity as Amazon will bring more than 2,000 jobs to North Randall on the former site of the Randall… Read more ›
Community Development Corporations in Cleveland are buying, renovating and selling vacant homes and making an impact in their neighborhoods. See the NewsChannel 5 story HERE.
An exciting new housing development project recently kicked off in Cleveland’s Slavic Village neighborhood that will bring 37 new, affordable homes to the heart of the neighborhood. Cleveland Housing Network (CHN) and Slavic Village Development Corporation are partnering on the project,… Read more ›
The Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization sponsored a Father’s Day History Walk in honor of Judge Raymond L. Pianka, the devoted Housing Court judge and advocate who died unexpectedly in January. Pianka, who presided for the last 21 years, was the longest-serving… Read more ›
On Saturday, May 20th and Sunday, May 21st, thousands of people gathered in Slavic Village for the fourth installation of Rooms To Let: CLE. The event, presented by Slavic Village Development Corporation, temporarily transforms vacant homes – all of which are slated… Read more ›
Vacant and abandoned properties can have negative spillover effects that often impact neighboring properties and, when concentrated, entire communities and even cities, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Research has linked foreclosed, vacant, and abandoned properties… Read more ›
Each summer, the Cuyahoga Land Bank works to “green” vacant land left behind after a blighted house is demolished. Vacant lots are either held for future development, transferred to the appropriate municipality or converted to other productive uses. Our land reuse experts are… Read more ›
