Montgomery County Land Bank was awarded $6.96 million in state funds to create housing opportunities for residents of its member communities, Governor Mike DeWine’s office announced recently.
Seventeen Ohio counties are set to receive a total of $29.5 million in grants in the first round of funding for the Ohio Department of Development’s Welcome Home Ohio program. Through the program, the state is investing a total of $150 million in grants and tax credits over two years to help land banks purchase, rehabilitate or build qualifying residential properties for income-eligible Ohioans.
“We couldn’t be more pleased to receive this generous award and proud to participate with the state and our member communities in providing much-needed housing for our residents,” said Land Bank Advisory Board Chair and Montgomery County Commissioner Carolyn Rice. “The legislature has shown outstanding leadership in recognizing the housing shortage and taking bold steps to help communities find solutions.”
In Montgomery County, $6 million will be used to buy 40 houses and $700,000 to rehab 24 properties. These properties will be used as single-family homes. “With support from the state of Ohio’s Welcome Home program, we will have the opportunity to bring new homes into the market and rehab existing structures to help alleviate the housing shortage,” said Land Bank Executive Director Paul Bradley.
Click here to hear a WYSO interview with Land Bank Program Manager Emmy Fabich providing details about the program.
