For Valentine's Day, the Clark County Land Bank is recognizing Neighborhood Housing Partnership of Greater Springfield (NHP) with a special "Public Display of Affection" at 2pm on Tuesday, February 14, 2017, on-site at a private residence. The address will be provided to interested members of the community and media upon request. This event is part of the national #LoveThatLot campaign to recognize outstanding revitalization projects on formerly blighted/vacant properties. The site of the celebration is a former blighted house in Park Layne now revitalized by NHP.

In honor of NHP’s work to revitalize the vacant house, the short celebration will feature a tour of the site and Valentine’s Day candy.

The Clark County Land Bank took possession of the property in the fall of 2015. The Land Bank Board then voted to donated the property to NHP. Over the course of 2016, NHP revitalized the house on the property with the help of Clark County Neighborhood Stabilization Program funding. Prior to the revitalization, the property had significant trash, debris, and environmental issues left from the original owners of the property. There was little to no working parts of the house. After the revitalization was complete, NHP sold the property to a first time home buyer.

Clark County Land Bank: “It was great to see this property saved. When the Land Bank finds properties in this condition typically the only option is to demolish it. The cost to renovate the property usually outweighs what the value of the property will be. Thankfully, in this case with the help of the private/public partnerships we were able to save the house and help keep the neighborhood intact.”

The Clark County Land Reutilization Corporation also known as the Land Bank has operated since 2014. The Land Bank’s mission is to return blighted and vacant properties to productive use. Since 2014, the Land Bank has demolished 42 blighted and vacant properties in the City of Springfield and throughout Clark County. All the while partnering with Clark County residents, townships, villages, cities and non-profits to put over 70 blighted and vacant properties back to productive use. The Land Bank has done this through it’s side lot program, installation of community gardens, little free libraries, landscaping, pocket parks, and housing improvements.

NHP is a chartered member of the NeighborWorks America network and a HUD approved counseling agency, NHP’s mission is to create quality, affordable housing and strong neighborhoods. Since 2002, NHP has touched the lives of many people by helping them bring their dreams of homeownership, home repairs, and neighborhood revitalization to reality. NHP services include homebuyer education, credit counseling, downpayment assistance, foreclosure counseling, lending, and real estate development.

This Public Display of Affection is part of a national Valentine's Day #LoveThatLot campaign to highlight local leaders and organizations who have transformed vacant properties into community assets. More information on #LoveThatLot can be found at www.communityprogress.net/LoveThatLot.

The national #LoveThatLot campaign is a project of the Center for Community Progress, the only national nonprofit solely dedicated to building a future in which entrenched, systemic vacancy and abandonment no longer exist in American communities.

For more information please contact: Ethan Harris, MPA

Project/Community Engagement Manager

Clark County Land Reutilization Corporation 3130 E. Main St, Suite 1A

Springfield, Ohio 45505

Ph: 937-521-2181

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