MOUNT VERNON—Two more houses are being built on Columbus Road through the Knox County Land Bank and Habitat for Humanity’s workforce housing partnership.
Excavators dug the foundations for the houses at 12 Madison Ave. and 2 Monroe St. The houses fit on the lots and required no city variances.
Habitat for Humanity Knox County is reviewing 13 applications for the 12 homes being built through the Welcome Home Ohio grant.
“We’ve already identified five, so we have seven houses left for 13 applicants,” Land Bank Vice President Sam Filkins said. “Not all of them will qualify, but it’s a good start.”
The Habitat review committee will recommend applicants to the land bank.
The houses at 47 and 61 Columbus Road are dried in with volunteers working on the interior.
All four houses are scheduled to be done by April.
“So then we’ll sell four houses in April, ideally, and move forward from there,” Filkins said.
Final negotiations are underway on a donation agreement for the Centerburg Respiratory and Specialty Rehab Care Center at 212 Fairview Ave.
“The building is in good condition, it just is not really usable. It’s built for a very specific use,” Filkins said.
“It’s not really something we need right now, but it doesn’t mean it can’t be used by someone else. It would need to be retrofitted. But we hope to own that before the end of the year.”
Project updates
The Knox County Land Bank received a brownfield grant of $827,161 for projects at Heartland Commerce Park. The land bank will use the bulk of the money for asbestos removal and demolishing the powerhouse.
Other activities in the past month include:
•Demolished 205 W. Vine St. 404 N. Sandusky and the trailer on Salem Road are slated for demolition after the first of the year.
•Sold 200 Pittsburgh Ave. to Mike Lindsey
•Windows have been cut in at 18 E. Vine St. The lower level plumbing, electrical, and framing passed inspection. Mount Vernon Nazarene University faculty will walk through it to get a better idea of its appearance.
Heartland Commerce Park
Land Bank President Jeff Gottke reported that the Cooper Park Development Company (CPDC) is “in its twilight.”
The CPDC oversees operations at Heartland Commerce Park and reports to the land bank. CPDC took the lead in creating the HCP Property Owners Association.
Gottke anticipated wrapping up CPDC by the end of the year. However, due to weather, the parking lot project will continue into the spring.
“Because that project is grant funded, it’s easier to keep CPDC in existence until we wind that grant up, and then CPDC can dissolve itself from there,” he explained.
“But it’s financially secure. We’re good through 2025, barring any big-ticket catastrophes.”
Gottke expects to wind up CPDC operations by the end of March and no later than June 30.
Any money remaining after CPDC dissolves will return to the land bank.
The land bank common area will take control of the buildings and developable properties, including parking lots and the plaza. The personal property (equipment) will be transferred to the property owners association.
The Area Development Foundation will continue to pay HCP’s two maintenance workers.
Work continues separating the electricity into meters for each building. The land bank cannot demolish the powerhouse until it is separated.
Plant 4 is complete, the controls building will be completed by the end of the year, and the engineering building will be separated by mid-January.
After AEP revises its drawings, Plant 2 will be separated.
The land bank still owns the administration building, Plants 1 and 5, and the warehouse.
CPDC is working with One Columbus and JobsOhio to get grant money for building improvements for Plant 5 and electric separation. The goal is to get grants connected to the property, not a specific building or project.
Miscellaneous
The board’s meetings are now on the third Thursday of the month at 9 a.m. Board members appointed Tyler Griffith to replace Board Chair and County Commissioner Teresa Bemiller on the CPDC board.
Knox County Treasurer Shelley Coon will serve as board chair in 2025. The board elected Griffith vice-chair.
Land bank staff are negotiating an agreement to transfer management of the city’s parking lot on Gay Street to the land bank. The Mount Vernon Parking Co. currently manages it.
