June 27 : Board of Directors, Cuyahoga Land Bank
Covered by Documenter Emma Sedlak (notes)
County land bank considers increasing subsidies to rehabs
The Cuyahoga Land Bank Board of Directors received updates on several of the Land Bank’s current projects from President and CEO Ricardo León and other members of land bank staff at its meeting on June 27.
According to León, the land bank is seeing costs associated with renovations rise in for some of the properties it owns. In the past, the land bank has set side about $60,000 to rehabilitate a housing unit.
“The inventory we’re getting is even worse than what we’d expect,” he said. “We think it’ll be a $100,000 renovation, and then when our team gets in there, it’s more like $160,000, and so that’s just the reality of the lack of inventory flow.”
He said the land bank may need to invest more money in properties.
Teamwork makes the dream work
The land bank has received $1 million in funding from County Council Member Michael J. Houser for the construction of 30 units in District 10. León said Houser was impressed with the land bank’s success in his district.
“I think that’s a win for the land bank”, said León. “It shows that we are a partner, a trusted partner who can come in and help solve housing market gaps and issues in real time, and do it in a way that’s conscious of a community.”
León also mentioned that land bank staff is currently working on a list of properties that will be given to the City of Cleveland for its land bank, which is managed separately. Residents can apply for city land bank parcels.
“A couple times a year,” he said, “we take a batch of properties and get them over in the hands of our municipalities, the properties that we don’t have interest in or a project immediately aligned to them.”
By the numbers…
León reported to the board that since its last meeting in March, eight new-construction homes are currently being built, 42 homes have been sold, and seven rehabs are in the works. The land bank has about 1,400 parcels in their inventory, 664 of them located in the City of Cleveland.
León provided details about First National Bank’s partnership in the Circle East project, starting with the redevelopment of four streets east of Woodlawn Avenue to bring new private investment into East Cleveland. The land bank owns about 30 acres at the site, where it is constructing 12 townhouses and 21 single-family homes.
At East 131st Street and Coit Road, environmental clean-up services company Clean Harbors is receiving $11 million to complete asbestos and debris removal at the site of the National ACME plant. The land is part of a site-readiness program the city is using to spur manufacturing development in Cleveland. Around 27,000 tons of illegally dumped trash and debris containing asbestos are expected to be cleared from the site.
Suggested Reading
Adam Stalder, the land bank’s director of community stabilization, said that in the 2024-2025 Ohio budget, that state awarded 369 grants statewide. Cuyahoga Land Bank received 42 of those, accounting for 34% of the state’s total funding.
Brad Cromes, Cuyahoga County Treasurer and land bank board member, asked about changes in the recently passed state budget for 2026-2027. León said the funds have been reduced and more organizations can apply, which could create a hyper-competitive market for state grant funding.