Mahoning, Trumbull Counties Get Grants to Improve Housing Access
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The land banks in Mahoning and Trumbull counties were awarded grants through the Welcome Home Ohio program to renovate and purchase homes.
The Mahoning County Land Bank, in partnership with the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp., will receive a total of $2.4 million in grants to renovate six vacant homes and purchase six newly constructed homes.
Plans call for six new homes to be built on Mineral Springs Avenue, which runs west off Glenwood Avenue on the eastern edge of Mill Creek Park in Youngstown. The addresses of the lots are 725, 737, 753, 730, 732 and 738 Mineral Springs and are owned by YNDC, which has built two homes on the street. Several older homes have been demolished in recent years.
“With the addition of six new homes there, that’s going to feel like a completely new street,” said Debora Flora, executive director of the land bank.
One of the six homes to be renovated is located on Stocker Avenue near McKelvey Lake on the city’s East Side. The other five renovated homes will be identified in the upcoming weeks.
All 12 will be sold to homeowners. According to Welcome Home Ohio guidelines, a buyer cannot earn more than 80 percent of the area’s median income. The buyer must agree to live in the home at least five years. If they sell the home in less than 20 years, they must sell to a buyer who earns no more than 80 percent of the median income and agrees to live there at least five years.
The new homes will be a minimum of three-bedroom, two-bathroom, two-car garage homes built with high-quality construction methods and materials, said YNDC Executive Director Ian Beniston. They will also be energy-efficient.
“We strongly believe these characteristics are important to position low- to moderate-income homebuyers for long-term success,” Beniston said.
The Trumbull County Land Bank, in partnership with the Trumbull Neighborhood Partnership, will receive $700,000 in grants to purchase four newly constructed single-family homes.
“This grant will allow us to make new, quality single-family homes available at a time when they are desperately needed,” said Mikenna McClurg, Trumbull County Land Bank housing coordinator.
TNP expects site selection to begin shortly and construction to be completed by early 2025.
The grants are part of nearly $29.5 million awarded to entities in 17 counties to support the creation of 263 owner-occupied, single-family homes. The funding is part of the first round of the Welcome Home Ohio program, which is investing a total of $100 million in grants over two years to help land banks purchase, rehabilitate or build qualifying residential properties for income-eligible Ohioans.
An additional $50 million in nonrefundable tax credits is available to land banks and eligible developers for rehab and new construction projects once a property is sold.
“The need for safe and affordable housing is a national challenge that requires proactive solutions, meaningful investments and strong collaboration across all levels of government,” Gov. Mike DeWine said. “This program represents an innovative and forward-thinking approach that addresses the barriers many Ohioans face when trying to buy a home.”
“Homeownership has long been a fundamental part of the American Dream, but that dream is often too far out of reach for many people to achieve,” said Lydia Mihalik, director of the Ohio Department of Development. “With Welcome Home Ohio funding, we’re rewriting that narrative and creating real opportunities for all Ohioans, regardless of their income, to experience the joy of having a home they can call their own.”
Pictured at top: Construction workers build a new home in Houston on March 15, 2021. (AP Photo | David J. Phillip, File)
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
