“It’s really great what they have done there,” said Officer Scott Montgomery with the Miamisburg Citizens Police-Initiatives. “Not only are there less calls to there, but they’ve developed very effective communication between the property owners, residents and the police department. They are the perfect example of what a community can do. They’re making all the right moves.”
Getting things turned around for the development started back in 2005, when most of the buildings were foreclosed and being auctioned-off.
That’s when landlord Dan Napoles of Napoles Properties and later, in 2007, landlord Laura Skugins of Dogwood Property Investments, saw the development’s potential and began snapping up properties, most ranging between $90,000 and $200,000, and rehabbing them.
The two eventually joined forces and brought on-board several other landlords of buildings on the property.
Napoles said he’s invested about $95,000 into his two buildings, while Skugins said she and her business partner, Theresa Wilkins, have put in about $90,000 in their three buildings. The duo also manage two other properties on site.
Since then, most have undergone getting new electrical wiring, plumbing, floors, roofs, windows and other much-needed upgrades and overhauls.
Their goal, say Napoles and Skugins, is to offer residents a safe, clean, friendly and affordable place to live in the Dayton area.
“It’s been a huge uphill battle, but it’s really paying off,” Skugins said.
Napoles agreed.
“It’s been a very stressful process, but when you see how far it’s come, it’s really good,” he said.
Montgomery concurs, adding that this kind of neighbors helping neighbors to improve their homes and neighborhood effort is the precise ingredient to maintaining a safe and happy community.
“You can’t lay crime at the police door,” he said. “There has to be involvement of the citizenry in order to reduce crime and reduce nuisances. It has to be a cooperative effort, and that’s what you have with these folks, and I can’t be more pleased.”
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-9338 or kmcallister@DaytonDailyNews.com.
About the Author