Revitalizing Ohio’s Vacant Properties Conference: Policies to Transform Communities

 

A joint conference of Greater Ohio Policy Center and Western Reserve Land Conservancy’s Thriving Communities Institute. 

October 22-23, 2013

Columbus, Ohio

Targeting Resources to Redevelop Neighborhoods—the Slavic Village Model

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

 Participants:

Robert Klein, Chairman and Founder, Safeguard Properties

Justin Fleming, Director of Real Estate, Cleveland Neighborhood Progress

Jeff Raig , Project Director, Slavic Village Recovery, LLC

On Wednesday, October 23, Robert Klein joined the Revitalizing Ohio’s Vacant Properties Conference to raise awareness on the holistic community revitalization model that is being utilized in the Slavic Village Recovery Project (SVR).  Attended by over 300 community stakeholders from across Ohio, the conference provided a forum for discussion on a myriad of topics pertaining to vacant properties and community revitalization. Joining Klein was Justin Fleming of Cleveland Neighborhood Progress (an SVR partner) and Jeff Raig, SVR Project Director. 

Klein kicked-off the discussion by describing how he initiated the private for profit/non-profit partnership in response to the need for a holistic solution for community revitalization.    Klein explained that the Slavic Village Recovery project came together to rehabilitate Cleveland’s historic Slavic Village, a neighborhood where between 23% and 30% of the homes are vacant.  Klein developed the project to target several properties at a time to bring large scale change to the neighborhood.  The holistic approach, using both demolition and rehab, is being viewed a case study for the creation of an affordable housing model that can be replicated in communities around the Country. The goal of the SVRP is to acquire homes at little or no cost from the local land bank and lenders for rehabilitation and resale for a price up to $60,000.  Klein emphasized that one of the most important premises being utilized in the Slavic Village Recovery Project is that the public/private partnership should be operated like a business to support productivity. 

While the project does not use public funds, it has great support from the City of Cleveland, as well as local stakeholders, Klein said, emphasizing that local stakeholders and servicers are vital to the success of the project.  Klein stressed that mortgage services have been invaluable in acquiring homes in the area and are overwhelmingly supportive.  Justin Fleming gave greater detail on the nuts and bolts of the process utilized to acquire homes from lenders, homeowners, and the local land bank.  Fleming stressed the importance of utilizing available data to determine the time frame for acquisition and the quickest route for acquiring homes in the target area.    

Jeff Raig, who is responsible for overseeing the project on a daily basis, wrapped up the presentation with a virtual walk-through of the Slavic Village neighborhood, providing attendees with a visual of the how far the community has come with photos of the target area.  Raig also illustrated the importance of community engagement to the success of the project by sharing stories of local homeowners taking a new found pride in maintaining their homes. 

About Greater Ohio Policy Center
Greater Ohio Policy Center (GOPC) is a non-profit, nonpartisan organization based in Columbus and operating statewide. GOPC champions revitalization and sustainable growth in Ohio, advocating policies and practices that enhance its metropolitan regions as economic drivers and preserve Ohio’s open space and farmland. For more information about GOPC and our independent research, public education, technical assistance, coalition-building, and advocacy activities, please visit: www.greaterohio.org.

About Thriving Communities Institute
The Thriving Communities Institute, a program of Western Reserve Land Conservancy, works with communities and organizations regionally to transform vacant and unproductive properties into new opportunities to attract economic growth, add green space to cities and support safe, beautiful neighborhoods. The Thriving Communities Institute is based in Cleveland, Ohio. For more information, visit: www.thrivingcommunitiesinstitute.org/.

 

Americatalyst Conference 2013 "Renting the Future"

Last week I had the chance to join a panel at the Americatalyst Conference.  We had a very productive conversation on community revitalization.  To learn more about the discussion read the summary below. 

You Can Fix a House, but can you fix a neighborhood?

Leading initiatives in neighborhood and community revitalization. 

Participants:

Moderator: Toni Moss, AMERICATALYST LLC

Co-Moderator: Julia Gordon, Director, Housing Finance and Policy, CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS

Ethan Handelman, Vice President for Policy and Advocacy, NATIONAL HOUSING CONFERENCE     

Robert Klein, Chairman, SAFEGUARD PROPERTIES and Chairman, RIK ENTERPRISES    

Craig Nickerson, President, NATIONAL COMMUNITY STABILIZATION TRUST

Tom Deyo, Vice President, NEIGHBORWORKS AMERICA

 
The initial promise of single-family rental was the large-scale renovation of foreclosed properties to stem the tide of neighborhood decline resulting from the crisis. Institutional investors have, for the most part, focused entirely on individual properties, leaving it to the non-profits to revitalize neighborhoods. The need for community redevelopment is so great that today, non-profits are increasingly partnering with for-profit firms with surprisingly profitable outcomes. This panel discussed some of the more unique opportunities, initiatives, and cutting-edge projects that make a crucial difference in distressed communities around the country.

Craig Nickerson began the discussion by talking about the group of individuals who were hit the hardest by foreclosure crisis and how they continue to be affected.  Low to moderate income families were hit in two waves with subprime mortgages and now do not qualify for loans.  Their only option is to rent  There is a lot of research that says the primary people who want to invest in these neighborhoods are the people who already live there.  Inevitably,  the same residents are opponents of rental markets in these communities. 

Toni Moss built on Craig’s thoughts and asked the panel where can NSP funds be utilized under these circumstances and what is the current status of the $7 billion allocation.  Ethan Handleman responded to this question by addressing the challenges around the use of these  and the associated timelines.  The money had to be spent in a very subsidy intensive way. NSP served as a capacity creator and generated a lot of lessons for non-profits who have become more sophisticated as a result.  What we are seeing now is a real recognition that the work that needs to be done goes well beyond $7 billion dollars.  Robert Klein asserted that NSP did not create a sustainable model for revitalization.  Tom Deyo added that NSP taught us the value of non-profits and brought us to place an emphasis on the history these organizations have in their communities.  It ultimately led us to understand what non-profits are good at and realize the importance of public private partnerships.  Craig Nickerson posed the question to the panel, where do we go from here? What we have today Is a realization that public private collaborations are necessary and we increasingly see these types of partnerships. 

 

To provide a real picture of how of how non-profits and private organizations can work together in this manner, Robert Klein discussed a concept he has developed and is implementing in Cleveland’s Slavic Village. Klein explained that the Slavic Village Recovery project is a private/non-profit partnership coming together to fight blight by rehabilitating a neighborhood where between 23% and 30% of the homes are vacant.  This project is unlike any other because it targets several properties at a time to bring large scale change to a neighborhood.  The holistic approach, using both demolition and rehab, is being viewed a case study for the creation of an affordable housing model that can be replicated in communities around the Country.  The project does not use public funds but has support from the City of Cleveland, as well as local stakeholders.  The goal of the SVRP is to acquire homes at little or no cost from the local land bank and lenders for rehabilitation and resale for a price up to $60,000.  Klein emphasized that one of the most important premises being utilized in the Slavic Village Recovery Project is that the public/private partnership should be operated like a business. 

Craig Nickerson added another perspective and spoke about the role investors can play in community revitalization.  Nickerson explained that there can be misconceptions about who investors really and the perception that these individuals do not have an interest in community stabilization.  Nickerson said that there is a need to change the perception on who these investors are and how they can revive a single-family rental market. Robert Klein responded by explaining that investors would not be successful with a home by home approach in helping to rebuild a community and empathized that a revitalized rental market would require several properties to be rehabilitated.  This approach also discourages the flipping of homes. 

The panel concluded with the participants agreeing that it is necessary to embrace the spirit of collaboration and the idea that not every investor is harmful to a community when reviving a single family rental market.

 

 

Slavic Village Recovery Unveils First Rehabilitated Home

We have a lot of exciting things happening in Slavic Village!

Slavic Village Recovery Unveils First Rehabilitated Home

First of 200 Properties to Undergo Renovation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 2, 2013

Slavic Village Recovery (SVR) has revealed the first home to be rehabilitated in its initial target area this week.  Hosting an open house on Tuesday, September 24, SVR welcomed local residents and interested parties to view its first completed home at 3672 East 54 Street in Slavic Village.  The two-story, two bed-room home that began construction in mid-July received a complete internal renovation and external face lift, including a new furnace, carpeting, cabinetry, and new roof.  SVR expects to sell the home at $56,900, making the monthly mortgage payment approximately $450, including taxes and insurance. 

“This home is living proof that renovated, quality affordable housing can be created in today’s economy,” said Robert Klein, project partner and Founder and Chairman of Safeguard Properties. “With the support of our partners, lenders, elected officials and the local community new residents and first time homebuyers will call Slavic Village home in the immediate future.”   

 

Before 

 

After

 

 

 

This is the first of 200 homes that SVR expects to renovate in the area to support the transformation of Slavic Village.  Interested homebuyers should contact SVR Project Director, Jeff Raig at 216.641.2586 or email JeffR@slavicvillage.org. 

About Slavic Village Recovery

The goal of the Slavic Village Recovery Project is to redevelop the historic Slavic Village neighborhood by taking a holistic approach to community revitalization.  The SVRP is a private/non-profit partnership, initiated in direct response to community blight and housing market needs in Cleveland's Slavic Village neighborhood. The first of its kind, this strategic collaboration is a diverse alliance between Forest City Enterprises, RIK Enterprises, Slavic Village Development, and Neighborhood Progress, Inc., each having decades of experience in their respective fields.  The SVRP aims to steady market volatility, stabilize the larger community and match home-buyers with a stress-free home at a good price.

Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SlavicVillageRecoveryProject?ref=br_tf

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Contact:  Holly Stutz, RIK Enterprises, Director of Marketing and Communications.  216.990.8767

 

Fast-Tracking Foreclosures: Legislators Join the Conversation

Fast-Tracking Foreclosures:  Legislators Join the Conversation

By  Robert Klein

There are many theories on what needs to be done at local levels when it comes to jump starting statewide economies and reviving housing markets.  In states that utilize a judicial foreclosure process legislatures are increasingly turning to fast-tracking vacant and abandoned properties as a solution. Although this concept is not new to our industry, we now find that local governments are beginning to realize the devastating long term effects that a lengthy foreclosure timeline on vacant and abandoned properties can have on communities.  This leads me to believe that those of us with boots on the ground experience are doing a better job of communicating this problem with audiences outside of our universe, namely legislative bodies that have the ability to affect this type of change. 

Governor Pat Quinn of Illinois signed a fast-tracking bill into law that was debated and negotiated for over two years in the state's general assembly.  The law decreased the Illinois foreclosure timeline from anywhere up to 600 days to just 3 months.  The bill even went so far as to indemnify servicers from trespassing charges when entering homes for preservation purposes.  

The state of New York followed suit this summer when they approved a similar bill hoping to free up foreclosure dockets that are more than three years behind.  Effective this July, Nevada put into place an expedited process for the foreclosure of abandoned properties. Connecticut crafted legislation that expedited the foreclosure process and provided support for homeowners through the mediation process.

Ohio has introduced a bill in the House of Representatives that would fast-track abandoned properties and proposes extinguishing homeowner's redemption rights.  The bill also establishes a protocol for properties to be donated to local land banks if the circumstances permit. 

These are just a few examples of legislative victories.  While no two laws are the same state to state, the goal remains the same: shorten the time period the properties stand vacant and minimize the impact on communities where they are located.  More broadly, halt the perpetuation of blight created by these properties.  This goal should not overshadow the fact that this type of legislation simultaneously acts to help homeowners.  First, it eliminates legal delays that can be costly to homeowners and often causes them to abandon their properties. Second, it prevents expensive and avoidable penalties and makes settlements in reach for struggling homeowners.

The aforementioned successes are no doubt the fruits of an industry raising awareness around this issue.  Expedited or fast-tracking foreclosures for clearly vacant and abandoned properties is a critical component in addressing urban blight and ultimately reversing the effects of the housing crisis.  This axiom that was once known only to our narrowly framed universe is now making its way into the mainstream and the appropriate audiences are taking note. Despite this progress there is still much work to be done in judicial foreclosure states that have yet to raise the fast-tracking issue.  States like Illinois, Nevada, New York and Connecticut are just the tip of the iceberg.  Now more than ever it is important that this conversation continues to evolve and local legislatures see the value in making these changes to provide for its communities today and tomorrow.