Michigan, Ohio Lawmakers Propose Large-Scale Demolition

With vacant and deteriorating properties taking a toll on communities throughout Ohio and Michigan, lawmakers from the two states are proposing large-scale demolition as a means of easing the burden of these problematic properties.

Sixteen Ohio and Michigan congressmen have petitioned President Barack Obama for federal aid for demolition projects.
“While every corner of the United States has suffered harm from this crisis, weak housing market areas in Ohio and Michigan have been devastated by slow population
growth and cannot sustain the oversupply of vacant properties,” the Congressmen wrote.
They estimate more than 700,000 properties in Ohio are beyond repair. These and other abandoned properties “not only rob neighboring homes of their value, but they become dangerous centers of crime, looting, and drug activity,” the lawmakers stated.
Some homes in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, are selling for as low as 8 percent of their appraisal values, according to the lawmakers.
They suggest demolishing some of the vacant, deteriorating properties that drag down surrounding home values would help stabilize neighborhoods, and they cite evidence to support their cause.
“In Flint, Michigan,” they said, “a $3.5 million investment in the demolition of vacant and condemned homes resulted in $109 million in preserved property values among the remaining inhabited homes.”
Because “stressed local governments lack the ability to finance large-scale demolition projects,” the lawmakers call on the federal government to support the cause and promote public-private partnerships in the states’ local communities.