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Address: 292 McGregor Ave., Mount Auburn
Owner: City of Cincinnati
Year Built: 1890
Value: $44,500
Comments: Sometimes the city of Cincinnati itself is responsible for blighted buildings. The foliage in the front of this house makes it barely visible. The Building and Inspections Department has issued orders for weeds to be removed.
The city purchased the house a year ago at a Hamilton County Sheriff's sale, according to Larry Harris, a planner with the city's Community Development Department.
The property is a part of the Cincinnati Land Reutilization Plan (CLRP). Under the plan, the city acquires properties on the county's delinquent property-tax roll for redevelopment. The goal is to return abandoned property to use. The city sells the properties at a low cost to people who agree to rehab them. The proposed development must occur within two to three years or ownership reverts to the city. A multi-department architectural review committee chooses projects for the program; city council reviews contracts before approval.
"A developer has showed interest in buying it, but no deal has been made," Harris says.
The grass hasn't been cut because a lawn contractor was just hired to care for CLRP properties, Harris says.
"We're just identifying the properties that have weeds that need to be cut," he says. "The contractor will be getting a list on Friday and this property will definitely be on it."
BLIGHT OF THE WEEK is an effort to highlight the problem of abandoned buildings — and who's responsible for them.
