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LISBON -- The Columbiana County land bank received the go-ahead Wednesday from county commissioners to apply for next year's round of building demolition and site revitalization dollars.
"This time it's competitive," land bank Executive Director Bobby Ritchey said.
The resolution approved by commissioners confirmed and designated the Columbiana County Land Reutilization Corporation, more commonly known as the land bank, as the lead entity for the county under the Ohio Department of Development Fiscal Year 2027 Building Demolition and Site Revitalization Program.
For this application, Ritchey said he's requesting $175,000 for 10 structures, with one located in Leetonia, one in Wellsville, three in East Palestine and five in East Liverpool. The grant, if approved, will require a 25 % match.
The pot available totals $21.5 million and the land bank will learn in January or February whether the county's request will be awarded.
According to Ritchey, the ODOD has had a lot of funding for the demolition of properties and the land bank has been successful in securing some of that funding for projects in the county over the years.
This year, the land bank is using funding to demolish 20 houses, with 16 located in East Liverpool, two in Salineville and two in the Liverpool Township/Wellsville area.
Ritchey said the land bank wants to pivot from focusing so heavily on demolitions to do more stabilization of houses, looking at how the county can save the existing housing stock.
Through the Welcome Home Ohio Program, using $1.65 million awarded to build or renovate homes, he said there are three new homes under construction Lisbon, two in East Palestine and one in Leetonia, along with some rehabilitation projects.
When the homes are sold, Ritchey said plans call for any money made by the land bank to be put in a fund that can then be used to rehab more homes or build more new homes.
A lot of the homes the land bank gets are through tax foreclosures. Grant money is used to address blight and get properties back to productive use either through tear downs or renovations.
To learn more about the land bank, visit the website at lb.columbianacodev.org.