MOUNT VERNON — Kokosing Construction is the latest company to join the partnership to bring affordable housing to Columbus Road.
When the Knox County Land Bank needed to calculate heights for floodplain work, Kokosing provided a surveyor at no charge.
“They got us the heights of the center of all of the blocks that we were looking at so that we know approximately how high the houses have to be because the local home builder prefers to build those on slabs as opposed to a foundation,” land bank president Sam Filkins explained.
Kokosing is also offering a summer apprenticeship for students. The students will build the walls for one of the houses.
“Their apprentices are going to come together and do all the framing, and Kokosing is going to pay for all the framing for the house,” Filkins said.
“It’s great to have good partners in communities, and it’s a great partnership here. We appreciate that.”
The land bank is partnering with Habitat for Humanity Knox County to build 12 houses in the Columbus Road area. A Welcome Home Ohio grant provided upfront seed money to the land bank.
The land bank will use the $2.46 million to buy 12 homes from Habitat and a local builder through 2025-26. The land bank has already bought one house from Habitat; the other is is contract.
Habitat broke ground on house number 5, and the local builder is considering building six homes instead of four.
Demolition is scheduled to start at 107 ½ Columbus Road, the site of a house fire, this week.
10 E. Vine St.
The building at 10 E. Vine St. in Mount Vernon, also known as the Ressing Building, is the land bank’s latest acquisition.
The organization bought the building in June for $135,000.
Tracy & Mills Surveyors will move out mid-July. Jackie K’s will continue renting on a month-to-month basis.
Filkins said the land bank does not have a “grand plan” for it at this point. When CK Construction finishes 18 E. Vine, the land bank will turn its attention to 10 E. Vine.
Centerburg
The Centerburg Respiratory building demolition is slated for completion this week.
“We’re getting a lot of calls about those lots; people want to buy them,” Filkins said.
The land bank will hold off demolishing the parking lot and the lights to provide security for the Memorial Park playground equipment, which the village is storing on the lot.
However, the land bank will prepay for the work, and the contractor will complete the demolition when it returns to demolish 27 Hartford Ave.
A program in the state budget provides grants to municipalities and townships within 20 miles of megasites. The Intel campus in New Albany is a megasite.
Filkins said Centerburg could potentially qualify for one of those grants, which the land bank could use to cover infrastructure or road costs on the site.
A draft lease between the land bank and the village states that the village will lease and manage the green space where the former In Town Restaurant stood. Once the lease is executed, the village can proceed with its plans for the area.
18 E. Vine St.
Crews should complete construction on Phase 1, the exterior facade and lower level, this month. Filkins expects to turn over the lower level to Mount Vernon Nazarene University in July.
Phase 2, the food hall and office suite, is progressing. Crews completed the framing in the food hall. Filkins said 16 vendors submitted applications.
The state accepted the plans for the office suite, and construction can begin this week.
Miscellaneous
The land bank is still waiting on a $98,000 reimbursement from the state that it submitted in January. The total amount pending for demolition reimbursement is $318,830.20.
Signage is ordered for Heartland Commerce Park showing the companies occupying the park.
The land bank is evaluating options for redoing the parking lot on South Gay Street.