Mahoning County land bank would rather revitalize than raze
AUSTINTOWN — For about five years, the 1,864-square foot, split-level home at 4942 Signature Circle sat vacant and unwanted — except by the family of raccoons living in its attic.
It couldn't even be sold at sheriff's sale.
In cases like these, the home would likely get torn down. But today, this home is once again move-in ready, thanks to rehabilitation efforts by the Mahoning County Land Bank.
The three-bedroom, two-bath house was most recently sold for $109,000 in 1999, according to Mahoning County Auditor records. It was last valued by the county in 2018 at $128,840 and is now up for sale for $150,000.
Austintown Zoning Inspector Darren Crivelli said, as he understands, after the home was placed in foreclosure the bank stepped away for some unknown reason, leaving behind its outstanding property taxes and property maintenance responsibilities.
It was ultimately transferred to the land bank, which scrubs property tax bills then figures out how to best scrub the property.
"I didn't want to move forward with trying to demolish the home because I knew it could be rehabbed," Crivelli said. "Most of the homes I send for lien foreclosure — some of them are demo-worthy; some of them can be rehabbed."
Land bank contractors replaced ceilings, kitchen cabinets and hardware and flooring, installed a new HVAC system and expanded the home's walk-out deck, according to the land bank.
"We're glad the township thought of us as a helpful resource in restoring this home," Debora Flora, land bank executive director said in a post on the agency's website. "Years ago, we did a small handful of these rehabilitation projects, but in more recent years, we've been focused on demolitions and greening projects.
"This renovation marked our return to this kind of work — referred to as our Market Rehabilitation Program."
Crivelli said the land bank has previously demolished about two-dozen homes on the northeast side the township's Wickliffe neighborhood.
"I know the [Austintown] trustees — over the last decade, we've taken down 90 homes through the [code] enforcement process," Crivelli said. "Obviously, removing blight stabilizes property values.
"[The land bank is] a nice repository county-wide to kind of centralize the rehabilitation of these delinquent homes or the tearing down of delinquent homes. They've done really fabulous work here in Austintown."
Crivelli said the township is planning to bring down another 8 to 10 homes following winter.
The state's Neighborhood Initiative Program has funded 1,100 land bank demolitions across Mahoning County in the past several years, but that program is expected to end next year. The land bank is now looking to do more renovations and make the homes tax-productive again, Flora said.
"We expect to see a shift from demolitions to more renovation and greening strategies," she said. "Our mission has always been to acquire vacant, abandoned, tax-delinquent properties and make them productive spaces again through restoration and repurposing efforts, and what better way to do so than making a house a home for another family."
This story was originally published November 4, 2019 at 5:55 AM with the headline "Mahoning County land bank would rather revitalize than raze."