The Montgomery County Land Bank applied for more than $11 million in funding through the Ohio Building Demolition and Site Revitalization Program.
Every county was guaranteed to receive about $500,000 in funding, but the local land bank requested additional funding and will receive more than $10.5 million on top of its guaranteed amount.
The state says it has approved funding to remove or improve 266 properties in Montgomery County, with the majority in the city of Dayton.
“By ridding our state of eyesores that are hindering development and impacting property values, we can revitalize our communities and attract new investments, businesses, jobs, and housing opportunities,” said Governor Mike DeWine in a statement.
The Montgomery County Land Bank recently told this newspaper that it had applied for state funding to demolish about 247 residential properties and 17 commercial buildings, and complete interior demolition on three properties.
Besides demolition, the state allows this grant funding to be used to remove asbestos, interior walls, dysfunctional utility systems and fix other problems that buildings have that are planned for reuse, said Mike Grauwelman, executive director of the Montgomery County Land Bank.
“There are a few larger commercial structures that would be gutted in this way to support redevelopment projects,” he said.
A few properties on the target list are large downtown commercial buildings.