A recent report discusses a new Cuyahoga County initiative. The County will lend money or award grants to cities so they can renovate abandoned and decaying homes. The cities will repair the exteriors of homes, then attempt to recover the money through filing liens.

Cuyahoga to offer cities house renovation loans

Cuyahoga County will lend money to cities so they can renovate abandoned and decaying homes that increasingly dot the landscape.

The loans are available countywide but are aimed at Cleveland's older suburbs, which have asked for help.

First in line is Shaker Heights, which will borrow $250,000. The city will repair the exteriors of 12 to 15 houses, then recover the money through liens that must be repaid before properties are sold, said Kamla Lewis, director of neighborhood revitalization.

Shaker Heights and Cleveland Heights have been aggressive in fixing problem areas like roofs and windows, then billing the property owners. Lately, other inner-ring suburbs have followed.

The county will lend the money by purchasing Shaker Heights municipal bonds at an interest rate that Treasurer Jim Rokakis finds attractive and is lower than the cities can get elsewhere. Shaker must pay off the bonds in four years.

Rokakis, who invests county money, has $10 million available for the program.

"It's a proper use of public funds," he said. "Not only is it proper, it's a wise use."

The loans might not help much in South Euclid, where a tight budget has forced the city to cut back on renovating homes. More debt payments would divert money that pays for police, firefighters and road work, Mayor Georgine Welo said.

For cities that can't afford to borrow, the county Development Department will award grants, designed mainly for older suburbs. But the grant program will be smaller -- $200,000 next year -- and limited to vacant houses.

Cities formerly gave money to homeowners, primarily elderly ones, who could not afford home repairs. City officials complain that abandoned houses, many of them in foreclosure, have become the biggest problem, said Paul Herdeg, manager of housing programs for the Development Department.

Bedford is interested in the county programs, said Rebecca Corrigan, director of economic development and community planning. The city has fixed 10 houses in the past two years, replacing roofs, doors and siding.

"You have to do that for the vitality of your community or it's just going to sink," Corrigan said.

To view the online article, please click here