The Portage County Land Bank sold more than $330,000 in open market sales in 2020, according to the nonprofit’s latest annual report.
This marks the third straight year of revenue growth from land and home sales, which topped $225,000 in 2019 and $126,000 in 2018.
This year, the land bank introduced two major new programs: the revolving loan fund and the deed-in-escrow program.
The RFL pilot program provides short-term financing and the necessary land for the construction of new homes. The builders then sell the new constructions on the open market. The goal is to incentivize redevelopment on vacant or tax delinquent properties.
The deed-in-escrow program has similar goals, selling property “as-is,” and requiring buyers to renovate the property to housing quality standards before the deed is removed from escrow. Buyers can therefore acquire property using sweat equity.
“This arrangement prevents speculation, incentivizes project completion and opens up opportunities for ownership to those who may not otherwise qualify for them,” Land Bank Chair Brad Cromes wrote in the report.
The land bank also collected $234,000 in delinquent taxes. All told, the land bank brought in $663,763 and spent $313,447.
Cromes, the Portage County Treasurer, also highlighted progress on rehabilitating an abandoned gas station property in Edinburg Township. The land bank completed an environmental assessment of the property in 2020 and secured funding for its cleanup through the Abandoned Gas Station Cleanup Grant program.
Natalie Wolford is managing editor at The Portager. A native of Randolph, she studied film in New York City and is producing a feature-length documentary about her aunt, a small-town journalist.