$60 Million and Counting, February 2008
The cost of vacant and abandoned properties to eight Ohio cities

ReBuild Ohio

On February 19, 2008, at an event in the Ohio Statehouse Atrium, Community Research Partners and ReBuild Ohio released $60 Million and Counting: The cost of vacant and abandoned properties to eight Ohio cities. The groundbreaking research, conducted by CRP over the past year, documents and quantifies the vacancy and abandonment problem in the state. Using eight diverse cities--Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Ironton, Lima, Springfield, Toledo and Zanesville--as "snapshots," this study measures the magnitude of the problem and identifies costs arising from vacant properties for local governments, communities, and neighborhoods hard hit by vacancies. The research was done for ReBuild Ohio to support a multi-faceted state policy agenda to address this crisis.

• 25,000 vacant and abandoned properties


• Widespread vacancies in both large and small cities


• $15 million in annual city service costs


• $49 million in cumulative lost property tax revenues to local governments and school districts


• Weakened neighborhood housing markets with evidence of property flipping
• Limited capacity of cities, on their own, to track and address vacant and abandoned properties