MANSFIELD — Most people would probably turn the opposite direction, running away in horror at the sight.
Overgrown trees and weeds lined its perimeter. Mounds of trash littered the dated floors. Graffiti covered the tattered walls. Unhinged cabinet doors joined the piles of furniture sprawled about.
It doesn’t sound like something you’d find in a “Better Homes Magazine,” but that didn’t faze Robert Marshall, who in August 2015 decided to purchase the home at 320 Altamont Ave. from the Richland County Land Bank.
The land bank is a nonprofit, government-purposed entity that endeavors to strategically acquire properties, return them to productive use, reduce blight, increase property values, support community goals and improve the quality of life for county residents.
“Some people think the land bank is all about demolition,” Land Bank Administrator Amy Hamrick said. “We love seeing a person who is willing to take on a project like this.”
Marshall, a 1991 graduate of Mansfield Senior, heard about the land bank from a friend. He decided to check out some of the land bank properties and eventually picked 320 Altamont Ave. because it’s a brick home, he said.
Turns out that the property has historical significance. The 1.5 story, gabled brick house is one of many similar houses built on the south side of the city by Jacob Scholl, a German immigrant stonemason, according to the Richland County Historical Society.
“The modest brick houses built by Jacob Scholl on the city’s south side are significant in being the craftsmanship of German immigrant tradesmen of the mid-19th century, representing one of the many nationalities of people who made up the population of Mansfield,” the historical society notes.
The 1,686-square-foot home was built in 1910, according to the Richland County auditor’s website.
It sat vacant for several years before Marshall took ownership.
“I was naive to how much work it would take to fix it up,” he said.
He started by removing the trees and weeds surrounding the house, some were wedged between the concrete patio and the house’s exterior.
“It was bad, really bad,” Marshall said.
But that was just the outside.
Next came the interior that resembled a landfill.
“You would think that I should have ran when I saw that,” he said laughing. “The number of dumpsters I went through…it was crazy.”
Rodent carcasses were tucked away in both the ceiling and floor, only to be discovered during the remodeling process.
Marshall, who works as a pharmaceutical sales representative for Amgen, described himself as an “OK” handyman. He hired local remodelers who did the bulk of the work, he said.
“Pretty much everything had to be done,” he said. “Electrical, plumbing, get a new furnace, new central air, lighting, new windows … There was nothing here except for the shell. Outside of that, everything else is new.”
The house has eight total rooms, including four bedrooms and one bathroom. The biggest project was the bathroom, which was a total remodel, he said.
Marshall recommends “doing your research” before renovating a land bank home. “Cuz I just jumped into it,” he said.
Looking back, he’d make some adjustments to how he went about the process, particularly regarding his budget.
“I put more in the house than it’s actually worth,” he said.
But he’s happy with the end result.
There are a few remaining projects, but the majority of the work is complete.
The most rewarding part of it all?
“Just to be done with it” he said. “It consumed me. I’d get off work and come over here. To have that free time, I don’t know what to do with myself.
“And knowing that I did it for my mom,” he added.
“When I was a kid, I told my mom I was going to buy her a house when I grew up, so to be able to fulfill that made it worth it.”
Marshall and his mother, Toni Knowles, moved in earlier this year.
“Robert did such a wonderful job and 320 Altamont is a shining example of what can be achieved when the land bank partners with somebody who has the money to invest in rebuilding existing communities within Mansfield,” Hamrick said.
