Cleveland City Council has approved legislation authorizing the transfer of several vacant properties to three local Community Development Corporations for the price of one dollar.
It's all part of a HUD program that allows the sale of abandoned federally owned properties to city governments after those properties have been on the market for a minimum of 6 months. One group taking advantage of this program is the Detroit Shoreway Development Organization. Detroit Shoreway's Mark Lastition sees some great potential, because long-standing vacant properties have had a substantial impact on the overall health and well-being of area neighborhoods.
LASTITION: They became places where there were break-ins, the copper pipes were taken, things like that and again it just leads to kind of a sense in the neighborhood that things were not good.
Several other properties are also being transferred by the city to community groups in North Collinwood and Slavic Village. Mark Lastition says the hope is these initial HUD sales will set a pattern for more in the future.
