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Project deconstructs vacant houses to revive Dayton

Amy Jomantas of Dayton receives some help from her son Andy with a door that she purchased at the Dayton Works Deconstruction Depot on Saturday, Nov.6.

Kelli Wynn Amy Jomantas of Dayton receives some help from her son Andy with a door that she purchased at the Dayton Works Deconstruction Depot on Saturday, Nov.6.

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By Kelli Wynn, Staff Writer Updated 8:46 PM Saturday, November 7, 2009

DAYTON — For Leslie Sheward, the Dayton Works Plus, LLC, Deconstruction Project provides more than a paycheck, it allows her to contribute to her community.

Sheward, a 53-year-old resident of Dayton’s Twin Towers neighborhood, is a crew supervisor for the project, which is a federally funded program that pays people to help deconstruct Dayton’s vacant houses and then sell the reusable building materials.

Sheward has a paid position, which comes in handy due to the fact that she was laid-off from her automotive industry job and went without paid work for eight months.

“It makes me feel good having a paid position, but at the same time being able to do something that makes my community better,” Sheward said during the grand opening of Dayton Works’ Deconstruction Depot that was held Saturday, Nov. 7 at the St. Vincent de Paul Community Store, 945 S. Edwin C. Moses.

Dayton Works is a non-profit organization that is a partnership between East End Community Services, PowerNet of Dayton and Architectural Reclamation Company, which is based in Dayton’s South Park neighborhood.

The deconstruction project is funded by a $500,000 contract with the City of Dayton through a Federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program. The planning of the project is funded by J.P. Morgan & Chase.

The money taken in at the depot goes back into the deconstruction project, thus providing funds to pay the project’s 22 workers, said Jan Lepore-Jentleson, executive director of East End Community Services.

Most of the workers have gone through PowerNet’s Gem Leadership Development Program, which is a support program for former inmates who desire to serve the needs of their neighborhoods, faith-based organizations, business community and social service agencies.

“About a year ago, we decided that we needed to find a way to put people to work...so we formed a partnership with PowerNet of Dayton and ARC...and we made a proposal to Dayton City Hall to get a contract to deconstruct houses using people power, rather than machinery and then salvage the materials, rather than sending all the materials to the landfill,” Lepore-Jentleson said.

Amy Jomantas, 52, of Dayton, attended the grand opening and was excited to find the eight wooden doors she purchased for her home.

“It’s a wonderful project. It’s putting people back to work and saving the planet because we’re not putting this material in landfills,” Jomantas said.

Besides doors, shoppers can expect to find metal doors, bathtubs, sinks, piles of wooden beams, vent covers, staircases, railings and miscellaneous wood and metal furnishings.

The deconstruction depot will be open to shoppers from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday to Friday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays at the St. Vincent de Paul Community Store.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2414 or kwynn@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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