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Demolitions program to focus on Trumbull residential areas
By Ed Runyan
WARREN
While the focus of Trumbull County’s first federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program was to demolish the worst residential and commercial structures across the county, the next NSP program will focus on six heavily residential, low-income areas.
The six areas — identified in a map found at the Trumbull County Planning Commission website at www.planning.co.trumbull.oh.us — will be the focus of $743,528 worth of demolitions under the proposal being submitted to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Julie Green, grants coordinator for the Trumbull County Planning Commission, said the money is likely to allow for roughly 90 residential demolitions.
The planning commission’s recommendation also calls for $285,972 to be used for purchase and rehabilitation of four residential properties and $114,389 in administrative costs for a total grant of $1,143,528.
County demolitions will be focused on an area of Warren to the west of Elm and Youngstown roads, extending north as far as the state Route 5 Bypass and south to the city limits, but it excludes southwest Warren.
An area just to south of there — the Bolindale area of Howland Township, a nearby part of Weathersfield Township, and the western edge of Niles — would also be a target area.
Other target areas are in the northern and eastern parts of Newton Falls, northern parts of Hubbard city and the Maplewood area of Hubbard Township, Southeastern Brookfield Township and Northeastern Hubbard Township near Masury, and a large rectangle in Girard city and Liberty Township mostly south of Church Hill-Hubbard Road (state Route 304).
The county is hopeful HUD will allow the county to modify the program’s guidelines, which say that only 10 percent of the money is supposed to be used for demolition and the rest for things such as rehabilitation of structures and down-payment assistance for purchase of single- family homes.
Green says most County residents’ don’t qualify for those programs, and the demand is low for them.
In Trumbull, the biggest need is for demolition of structures because 400 blighted structures have been identified, and there are high home-vacancy rates here, Green said.
Of the 400 blighted structures identified, more than half are in Warren, Green said.
Four housing units would be rehabilitated to provide affordable rental opportunities through the Western Reserve Housing Development Corp. — at 506 Washington St., Girard; at 409 Ventura Drive, Liberty Township; at 674 Grover St., Masury; and at 501 Murray Hill, Liberty Township.