“One of the most visible impacts we can have is just getting rid of the stuff that is not rehab-able — the stuff that is obviously blight that needs to be demolished,” he said.
Ohio’s Building Demolition and Site Revitalization Program has awarded $5.3 million to the Montgomery County Land Bank for new demolition projects.
The grant award in Montgomery County, combined with local matching dollars worth 25% of project costs, will help demolish about 103 properties in Dayton, 35 in Trotwood, eight in Riverside and a few others in Harrison Twp. Moraine and West Carrollton.
In previous funding rounds in the last couple of years, the Demolition and Site Revitalization Program gave the local land bank more than $11 million for demolition and site cleanup.
Those dollars, in conjunction with local matching funds, are expected to take down and remediate 260 blighted properties across the county, primarily in the city of Dayton.
Elsewhere in the region, Miami County will get about $1.75 million for demolition of 10 sites, and Greene County will receive $330,000 for demolition of six sites.
Bradley said most of the homes and buildings that will be leveled using this new grant funding in Montgomery County are vacant, blighted and were abandoned by their owners.
He said most properties are on local cities’ nuisance lists and are not owned by the land bank.
The Dayton Daily News visited about a dozen properties on the demolition list and determined some of the structures already have been reduced to piles of rubble.
Bradley said blight remains a major issue in Montgomery County even though Dayton and other jurisdictions have spent millions of dollars knocking down eyesores.
Dayton has vowed to spend about $22 million to demolish more than 1,000 nuisance properties using some of its COVID relief funds and other funding sources.
The Dayton region needs every dollar it can get for demolition, Bradley said, arguing that blight removal can help reduce crime and improve mental health and sets the stage for redevelopment.
Once the structures are removed, the lots that remain can be used for new in-fill housing, side yards and pocket parks, he said.
Bradley said the land bank hopes that it will finish up demolition activities next year that are being paid for with state grants from previous funding rounds.
The state overall has awarded more than $270 million in grants through its Demolition and Site Revitalization Program to help bulldoze more than 5,000 properties.
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