Photos: Laura McShane July 2, 2022
I use Twitter, now X, to hashtag #FIREGusFrangos. This past week, Nick Castele published the latest crime in progress:
Cleveland taxpayers are paying to demolish a property owned by the Cuyahoga County Council president and the Cuyahoga Land Bank is "selling" Cuyahoga County Council President Pernel Jones' property at 8637 Buckeye- an HISTORIC building Jones let fall into disrepair and delinquent on back taxes until this report came out.
Marshall Project reporter Mark Puente also noted that Pernel Jones' business operation on Cedar was similarly tax delinquent until the report.
The roof has collapsed, and the building was damaged by a fire, Beth Mackey with Cleveland’s demolition bureau said at a city planning meeting Tuesday morning. Now Cleveland plans to raze the building at taxpayer expense and stick the funeral home with the $106,355 bill, according to the city.
Jones said he has privately contracted with the Cuyahoga Land Bank to find a buyer for the land. The council president said “no county money whatsoever” is involved in the deal.
2023 Strategy Development Grant Recipient
Application Title: Site Readiness and Good Jobs Initiative (SDG)
Lead Applicant: The Fund for Our Economic Future of Northeast Ohio
State(s) Served: Ohio
Applicant-Defined Region: 5 census tracts in what is known as the Opportunity Corridor in the city of Cleveland, OH
Contact: Reanna Karousis (rkarousis [at] thefundneo [dot] org)
Site Readiness and Good Jobs Initiative, led by The Fund for Our Economic Future, will connect land use and growth initiatives with community development in Cleveland, Ohio. The plan aims to leverage investments in the Opportunity Corridor—a former brownfield redevelopment area on the southeast side of the city. Activities include hiring a Recompete Plan Coordinator and necessary staff and funding contracted support for community outreach and strategic implementation planning.
Strategy Development Grant Narrative [4] (PDF)
Links:
[1] https://signalcleveland.org/cleveland-to-demolish-dilapidated-building-owned-by-cuyahoga-county-council-presidents-funeral-home/
[2] http://realneo.us/content/gus-frangos-deal-steven-pontikos
[3] https://www.eda.gov/funding/programs/recompete-pilot-program/2023/Site-Readiness-and-Good-Jobs-Initiative-SDG
[4] https://www.eda.gov/sites/default/files/2023-12/Fund_for_Our_Economic_Future_Strategy_Development_Grant.pdf
[5] https://www.eda.gov/news/press-release/2023/12/20/Site-Readiness-and-Good-Jobs-Initiative-SDG