MANSFIELD, Ohio – A dilapidated house was demolished, leaving a vacant property in Mansfield–but not for long. The Richland County Land Reutilization Corporation is transforming the property into a community garden.
Amy Hamrick, manager of the Land Reutilization Corporation, explained the property at 478 South Main Street in Mansfield is being rehabilitated after the house was demolished on May 13. The empty lot was being landscaped on Monday into a space available for the community.
“It’s an area that desperately needed something,” said Hamrick.
The landscaping project is managed by Rex’s Landscaping & Construction, a contractor for the Land Reutilization Corporation. Earlier this year, Rex’s became the first business to acquire a commercial property from the Land Reutilization Corporation.
Jon Stierhoff, director of operations at Rex’s, said the company created a design for the property including fruit and shade trees, bushes and shrubs, a walkway and open parcels of land for planting seasonal gardens.
“Plants are one of the few things you can do to a property to increase value, especially in terms of aesthetics and pollution control,” said Stierhoff. “It’s nothing real elaborate but certainly an improvement from an ugly house.”
Hamrick said the property that previously occupied the lot on Main Street was forfeited to the state of Ohio after failing to sell at a sheriff’s sale. The property was determined to be uninhabitable after the discovery of an open well in the back of the property.
“It was pretty hazardous and could not be brought up to code,” said Hamrick.
The Land Reutilization Corporation utilized funds from their $1 million Neighborhood Initiative Program grant to demolish the house.
“Richland County has lost well over 5,000 residents as of the 2010 census. This [grant] to help bring the substandard housing up and stabilize property values,” explained Hamrick. “Something uninhabitable brings down property values in the entire neighborhood, so this helps.”
Many properties belonging to the Land Reutilization Corporation are sold to next-door neighbors; in the case of the Main Street property no owner or occupant was identified.
Hamrick said the property will eventually be transferred to the Grace Fellowship Church, located on Straub Road in Mansfield.
“Normally we send letters out to neighborhood churches to see if there’s something they’re interested in, we work with a lot of different nonprofits on different types of things,” she said. “Some want community gardens, some just need extra space, whatever fits in with their goals.”
Hamrick said the Main Street property is just one of many different projects happening around the city and county to beautify the area. Stierhoff estimated the project would be completed by Wednesday.
“You see a lot of properties downtown that need some help,” said Stierhoff. “The land bank is making major strides and has a lot of ideas in the works to beautify the area. That’s our goal, too.”
