Ohio Properties Redevelopment Institute:
Transforming Problem Properties into Opportunity
In April 2012, Greater Ohio Policy Center hosted the Ohio Properties Redevelopment Institute, an innovative forum that promoted solutions to vacant and abandoned properties. Almost 200 village, city and state officials, non-profit leaders, and representatives from the private sector participated in the two day conversation on strategies to mitigate the crisis in Ohio. The Properties Institute was a critical first step in making progress against the increasing tide of vacancy and abandonment by augmenting local capacity and advancing state policy reforms that are aligned with local action.
Featuring local practitioners, financial institutions, and state and national level redevelopment experts, the sessions included a variety of topics:
- Acquisition tool
- Land banks
- Neighborhood stabilization tactics
- Revitalization strategies
- State programs and policy
- Property information systems
- Urban redevelopment successes
- The role of banks
The agenda for the Institute can be found here.
Greater Ohio also launched our Healthy Properties, Rebuilding Communities (HPRC) Initiative to develop action steps and tools that move beyond the vacancy crisis and rebuild our neighborhoods and communities. GOPC will advance the Initiative by conducting research with national partners on rebuilding our urban cores, evaluating and advancing legislative ideas, developing a coalition and planning for targeted tool development for smaller communities, launching a repository of best practices, improving data collection and inventory statewide, and convening other regional training sessions.
The Institute provided an opportunity for input into policy reforms to arm local leaders with new tools and align policies with local community development needs. With Ohio’s cities and towns at a crisis point, the Institute’s goals -- training and education, coalition-building and policy advancement -- are vital to productively reshape Ohio’s communities.
Sponsors
We are grateful for our list of sponsors, including: Ohio Capital Corporation for Housing, Fifth Third Bank, PNC Bank, Safeguard Properties, Huntington Bank, Neighborhood Progress Inc., Ohio Department of Development, Ohio Housing Finance Agency and the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland (in-kind).
