Techical Assistance
Introduction to TA
Demonstration Program
Fee-for-Service
Team of Experts
Initiate Request for TA

CLEVELAND, OHIO



Client: Neighborhood Progress, Inc. (NPI)

Team of experts: Joseph Schilling, Virginia Tech’s Metropolitan Institute; Alan Mallach, National Housing Institute; Lisa Mueller Levy, Local Initiatives Support Corporation; John Kromer, Fels Institute of Government at the University of Pennsylvania

Description of work: In April 2004, the NVPC study team conducted its preliminary site assessment of Cleveland’s vacant properties policies, programs, and laws. The team met with over 50 different individuals representing key stakeholders in vacant property revitalization, such as city council members, department directors, CDC directors, and intermediaries. On the evening of the third day, the assessment team made a presentation on its preliminary findings at a community forum sponsored by NPI. In August 2004, a draft report was sent to NPI and its Steering Committee for review and input. During the first week of December 2004, Joe Schilling and Alan Mallach returned to Cleveland for a one-day meeting with NPI and its Steering Committee to review the draft report and collect new information since the April assessment visit. During the first half of 2005, Schilling and Mallach worked with NPI and representatives from its Steering Committee to finalize the assessment report and its policy recommendations.

On June 14, 2005 the final assessment report Cleveland at the Crossroads (below) was formally released at a kick off event organized by NPI and CNDC. Alan Mallach and Joe Schilling highlighted the report’s recommendations and policy analysis before more than 80 vacant property stakeholders from Cleveland and its surrounding communities. The local paper, the Plain Dealer, ran several stories and an editorial about the report and the response by civic and community leaders. After the official release of the report, the Campaign participated in three policy roundtables that explored several of the report’s major policy themes in more depth.

  • Real Property Information Systems
    with John Kromer
  • Vacant Property Prevention and Rehabilitation Approaches
    (e.g. Code Enforcement) with Joe Schilling
  • Vacant Property Acquisition and Reuse Strategies with Alan Mallach

Since the release of the report: Mayor Jane Campbell immediately endorsed the Crossroads report and appointed former city councilmember Ed Rybka to spearhead the city’s vacant properties activities. The Country Treasurer also announced a major policy initiative to reform the tax foreclosure process for vacant, tax delinquent properties. NPI and Cleveland Neighborhood Development Coalition (CNDC) then convened a meeting among these and other county and city officials that subsequently evolved into a semi-official working group or Vacant Properties Coordinating Council. During the fall 2005 mayoral campaign both candidates embraced vacant properties (and indirectly the spirit of the Crossroads report) as a critical issue for the future of the city. Cleveland’s new Mayor Frank Jackson is forming a new position within his cabinet that will focus exclusively on real estate assets and vacant property revitalization. NPI, in collaboration with the Coordinating Council, submitted a concept paper to several local foundations for a comprehensive series of initiatives to implement several of the recommendations set forth in the Crossroads report, such as assistance to Case Western/CANDO for the real property information system and support to the Housing Law Clinic and NPI to assist CDCs through the legal maze of acquiring tax delinquent properties.

Resources:

Cleveland at the Crossroads: Turning Abandonment into Opportunity

Rebuild Ohio: Read about the new statewide consortium promoting a statewide perspective and approach to the reclamation and redevelopment of vacant and abandoned property.

Ohio Vacant Properties Forum: Download presentations from the October 2005 forum.