Agencies that acquire real estate on behalf of the city of Columbus and surrounding Franklin County plan to spend nearly $21 million to demolish more than 1,100 blighted homes before 2020.
The Columbus Dispatch reports Franklin County's land bank, the Central Ohio Community Improvement Corp., and Columbus' land bank have already razed nearly 350 properties.
The land banks have been acquiring properties through tax foreclosures in the hope the structures can be demolished more quickly because of their blighted condition.
The Ohio Housing Finance Agency awarded $2.3 million in federal money to the Franklin County land bank in October, bringing the countywide total for dealing with blight to nearly $21 million.
A code enforcement administrator for Columbus says the city has more than 5,000 vacant structures.
