Trumbull County Gets $7.2M to Raze 181 Properties
WARREN, Ohio – A city-owned building where Warren housed its community development agency and other offices and the buildings where a long-closed furniture store and theater in downtown Niles were located will be coming down following the award of state grant funds for Trumbull County.
The Ohio Building Demolition and Site Revitalization program awarded more than $7.2 million to the Trumbull County Land Reutilization Corp. – better known as Trumbull County Land Bank – to address 181 blighted properties in the county.
The grants to Trumbull County represent a portion of more than $54.5 million for 599 structures in 15 counties awarded from the program Friday. Administered by the Ohio Department of Development, the same program awarded nearly $6.9 million for demolition and remediation projects in Mahoning County in December and $500,000 to Columbiana County in October.
“By ridding our state of eyesores that are hindering development and impacting property values, we can revitalize our communities and attract new investments, businesses, jobs and housing opportunities,” Gov. Mike DeWine said in announcing the grants. “Many of our communities have truly transformative ideas for these properties, and I’m pleased that we’re able to help remove these barriers to development.”
Trumbull County’s grant application leveraged money from Warren and the Trumbull County’s shares of American Rescue Plan funds, said Matt Martin, executive director of Trumbull Neighborhood Partnership. TNP manages the land bank program.
The fund will allow TNP and the land bank to address the majority of Warren’s demolition list, along with some additional properties outside the city, Martin said.
All but 20 of the Trumbull County properties listed are in the city. The vast majority of the properties are residential units.
“We really appreciate the effort [the land bank and TNP] put into the application,” Mike Keys, Warren’s community development director, said.
One of the nonresidential sites slated for demolition is 418 S. Main St., a now-vacant city building that previously housed the community development, health and income tax departments, as well as Warren Redevelopment and Planning Corp.
In Niles, the funds will be used to take down the Butler – later Robins – Theater building, 42-46 S. Main, and the former Reisman’s Furniture store, 54 S. Main.
“We appreciate the efforts of Gov. Mike DeWine for the opportunity to reinvest [in] and revitalize downtown Niles,” Niles Mayor Steve Mientkiewicz said in a Facebook post. “This grant funding is not only beneficial to Niles, but Trumbull County as a whole.”
Other Trumbull County communities slated for projects funded by the grant award include Brookfield, Cortland, Girard, Liberty, McDonald, Newton Township, Vernon, Warren Township, Weathersfield Township and West Farmington.
Pictured at top: The Niles buildings that once housed the Butler – later Robins – Theater at 42-46 S. Main and the former Reisman’s Furniture store at 54 S. Main.
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