Land Bank Celebrates 600th Demolition; Selects Sebring as Milestone Project
Leaders of the Mahoning County Land Bank joined Sebring officials at an abandoned, blighted house at 846 N. 15th St. on May 11 to complete the land bank’s 600th demolition project.
The land bank has been demolishing houses since 2015 as part of a program to bring relief to neighbors and village leaders, who have had to take care of abandoned houses and vacant lots due to lack of action by the owners.
“We chose Sebring to be the site of this milestone because of the major impact housing demolition has on a small community,” said Debora Flora, executive director of the land bank. “Sebring is in a lot of ways like a mini Youngstown. It has a rich industrial history and has faced some challenges with economic development, much like Youngstown, and it’s leveraging innovative programs like this to bring important benefits.”
The land bank has budgeted for and identified 15 demolition sites in Sebring over the next several months.
“This marks one of 15 demolitions in Sebring, which may not sound like a lot – unless you live there and see the impact these projects can make,” Flora said.
Sebring Mayor J. Michael Pinkerton serves on the land bank board of directors as its small communities representative, a voice for small communities countywide.
“When the land bank and community leaders come together to clean up blighted, abandoned properties, the results are impactful,” said Dan Yemma, Mahoning County treasurer and chairman of the land bank.
The land bank was pleased to locate and employ contractors and landscapers near Sebring to keep the money and community efforts local.
Weyer Excavating, based in Alliance, completed the demolition work and Turf to Trees of Ohio, a landscaping group in Sebring, provided the greening.
This 600th demolition highlights a month full of projects for the Land Bank, with demolitions scheduled in Sebring, North Benton, Washingtonville, Youngstown, Milton Township, Beaver Township and Smith Township.
You can read more at the following news stories:
WKBN – Sebring Neighbors Ready to Rid Streets of Abandoned Houses
The Alliance Review – Mahoning Land Bank Marks 600th Demolition
