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Getting Ohio to Work: Reaching Opportunity through Public Transportation Part II

Getting Ohio to Work: Reaching Opportunity through Public Transportation Part II

Ohio’s public transportation systems serve as a vital means of getting people to work on a daily basis, but struggle to meet increasing demand for service. Among Ohio’s 88 counties, 61 different transit agencies have a profound role on the state economy by transporting 115 million people each year.

Media Coverage of $180 Million and Growing: The Economic Impacts of the Land Banks

Last month, Greater Ohio Policy Center released a report documenting the economic impacts that the City of Columbus and Franklin County land banks had on the local economy. These economic impacts include:

  • $90 million in protected home values from demolition of nearby blighted structures
  • $7.8 million in direct land sales
  • $442,000 in property taxes collected from former land bank properties in 2017 alone
  • $80 million in new private and non-profit investment on vacant lots or blighted, abandoned structures
  • $3.3 million in grants and loans awarded to local non-profit partners

The collaboration between the City of Columbus and COCIC has served to jump-start real estate activity in some of Central Ohio’s most disinvested housing markets and after more than 1,600 demolitions in the past five years, the land banks have successfully dealt with the worst of the worst properties. Today, the land banks are strategically pivoting to address properties farther up the blight pipeline through rehabilitation and blight prevention.

Below is a wrap-up of the media coverage this report has generated:

Land Banks in Central Ohio Restore Nearly 1,300 Properties in 5 Years
Non Profit Quarterly 4/3/2018  Reporter Steve Dubb

Group says land banks are boosting local economy
Columbus Dispatch - 4/2/2018  Reporter Mark Ferenchik

Columbus-Franklin County land banks report $180M in economic impact
Columbus Business First - 3/20/2018 Reporter Carrie Ghose

GOPC Presents at Eastgate Council of Governments Annual Meeting in Youngstown

GOPC Presents at Eastgate Council of Governments Annual Meeting in Youngstown

Hollingsworth presented on GOPC’s research into revitalization opportunities for Ohio’s older industrial cities with smaller populations – like Youngstown and Warren. She focused in on two factors that GOPC’s research has shown makes the biggest difference for revitalization in these places: strong civic infrastructure and quality of place.

New GOPC report finds City of Columbus and Franklin County Land Banks Significantly Impact Local Economies

New GOPC report finds City of Columbus and Franklin County Land Banks Significantly Impact Local Economies

According to a recently released report by Greater Ohio Policy Center, in the past five years, the Columbus Land Redevelopment Office and Central Ohio Community improvement Corporation (COCIC) have generated $180 million in economic impact in Columbus and Franklin County communities.

Affordable housing leaders in Ohio share ideas at GOPC’s Learning Exchange

Greater Ohio Policy Center (GOPC) organized a statewide affordable housing learning exchange at the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA) offices. The learning exchange brought together practitioners from Columbus, Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Toledo to discuss the current housing affordability challenges in their regions and share policies and practices that seek to address the problem.