(The Center Square) – Ohio plans to spend another $150 million in taxpayer funds to knock down dilapidated buildings and clean surrounding properties across the state.
The new round of grants pushes the total to $300 million spent in nearly a year.
“Blighted buildings have no place in our vision for Ohio’s future,” DeWine said. “These dilapidated eyesores continue to stand in the way of progress, and by helping local communities take them down, we can open these areas up for new economic development.”
The program began in 2021 when the General Assembly included it in the state budget and expanded it with this year’s budget signed into law by DeWine in early July.
Each of the state’s 88 counties has access to $500,000 in set-aside money and any remaining funds get distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.
“Companies from all over the country are choosing to set up shop in Ohio because we’re making transformative investments in the critical infrastructure that supports their growth,” said Lydia Mihalik, director of the Department of Development. “With every dilapidated eyesore we tear down, we lay the foundation for another community to become Ohio’s next great economic success story.”
The recent announcement that grant applications are open is the fourth in a series that began in October 2022 and continued in December 2022 and January 2023. Those grants totaled nearly $150 million for 3,699 projects in all but Preble County in southwest Ohio, along the Indiana border.
