Berea vacant homes will be torn down | News

Berea is very pleased to have received a $200,000 grant through the Neighborhood Stabilization Program that will allow them to alleviate foreclosed and vacant homes in the North End.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development started the program in 2010 and allotted Cuyahoga County about $2.5 million in the third round of grants this year.

With the funds, Berea will purchase a vacant home on Longfellow Drive.

The Cuyahoga County Land Bank will demolish it and Berea will contract with a builder to construct a new home on the property.

Berea will then work with a local realtor to sell the home to an income-eligible buyer.

Berea can use the proceeds from the sale to purchase another vacant home and begin the process again.

This is a self-perpetuating program and will allow us to improve neighborhoods by eliminating vacant and blighted houses.

This is a first-time program for Berea.

In the past, the city has received residential as well as commercial property that the Land Bank has purchased and then donated or sold to Berea at very low cost.

Those programs made possible the demolition of the old Williams Ford dealership and other tracts of land at the entryway to Berea and the installation of our new community garden in the North End.

This new grant will allow the city to tackle a number of blighted properties and replace them with modern, sustainable homes.

The key is re-development - to continue to make our city attractive to residents and businesses alike.