The Van Wert County Courthouse

Thursday, Mar. 28, 2024

A-G office issues report on demolitions

Ohio Attorney General’s information

COLUMBUS — Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine on Friday issued a report detailing the work of “The Ohio Attorney General’s Moving Ohio Forward” Demolition Grant Program. The report shows the program, which concluded at the end of 2014, helped remove more than 14,000 abandoned and blighted housing units across Ohio.

“While the number of blighted structures we have removed is an impressive figure, the true success of this program is measured by its visible impact in the towns, on the streets, and through the lives it has touched,” said Attorney General DeWine.

Van Wert County has used funds from the program to demolish derelict structures throughout the county.

DeWine announced the program in February 2012 shortly after the National Mortgage Settlement was finalized with 49 states and the nation’s five largest mortgage servicers. The settlement addressed robo-signing abuses that worsened foreclosure issues during the recession. Affected borrowers received direct assistance in the form of cash payments, loan modifications, and reduced interest rates. States also received discretionary funds to help alleviate issues caused by foreclosure.

DeWine used the discretionary funds to create his Moving Ohio Forward Demolition Grant Program to benefit neighborhoods and communities which were also victims of the foreclosure crisis. The program dedicated $75 million of Ohio’s share of the settlement funds for the demolition of abandoned and blighted structures across the state. Each of Ohio’s 88 counties received a proportional allocation of the funds based upon the number of foreclosures in each county between 2008 and 2011. To maximize the reach of the program, counties were required to provide matching funds for any grant amount beyond the first $500,000.

The program, which concluded on December 31, 2014, resulted in the demolition of more than 14,600 blighted housing units at an average cost of $8,148.75 per demolition. The program was able to dedicate more than $119 million toward blight demolition through both the program grants and matching funds.

copy of the report is available on the Ohio Attorney General’s website.

POSTED: 02/28/15 at 8:28 am. FILED UNDER: News