Properties demolished or condemned to date:
3467 Far Hills Ave. (completed)
1520 Norton Ave. (completed)
2950 Hilton Ave. (under way)
1357 Elmdale Drive (purchased by city)
1701 and 1801 Stroop Road (home and warehouse)
2801 Rushland Drive
2733 Circle View Drive (purchased April 8 by Kettering)
The demolition of 15 dilapidated Kettering homes and structures before the end of the year will be funded through a mix of city money and state funding.
The city recently added seven structures to the list so it could use state funding before a Dec. 31 deadline. City council approved accepting an additional $48,276 from the Moving Ohio Forward Demolition Grant program and matching it with up to $42,500 in Kettering money.
Joanne Mejias, property code manager and a city planner, said the structures have been “whittled down from an original list of 20 vacant, dilapidated, blighted properties in target areas for community re-development. We’ve been tracking these problems for years.”
Most were constructed in the 1930s and ’40s. They are located in several city neighborhoods, including Berkley Heights, Richman Heights, Oakdale and Hills and Dales.
Owners were notified to correct violations or the buildings would be demolished.
In some cases, the city of Kettering has purchased the properties to proceed with tearing them down.
The average cost of demolition, including paperwork and asbestos removal, has been $11,0o0 to date.
Angela Brown, community development administrator for Kettering, said accepting the funding will allow the city to move forward on the rest. All funds must be spent by Dec. 31.
She declined to identify the next seven properties because legal proceedings to acquire or remove them is still under way.
Grants are from the Montgomery County Land Reutilization Corp., or land bank, tapping Ohio’s $93 million share of a federal settlement withe five of the country’s largest mortgage firms over foreclosure abuses, fraud and unfair or deceptive practices.
That included $75 million for counties to tear down troubled properties.
“It’s been a great opportunity for Kettering to remove several eyesores and encourage revitalization of neighborhoods,” Mejias said.
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