I love the pictures and thoughts you are posting. THis raises an interesting issues of recyling, as we do need to strip away much decayed surface to find what is valuable - removing the aluminum siding exposes the original wood surface, surely covered in lead paint that is decaying and causing a community hazard. Do we continue on and recycle the whole building and leave a vacant lot where the houses are no longer usable, or do we go through the expense (as a society) to repair the deeper damage of passing time, in many cases when there is no longer local need or interest? Shrinking city.

Thanks, Jeff,  for a great follow up to 'Man wth wheel on his head'..  this is yet another problem apparent wherever defunct, abandoned, and foreclosed properties predominate.  Again, we can appreciate one seizing business opportunity.  Yet a foreclosed or abandoned property does not equate to publicly owned or free property- there is a process, where these properties are either condemned for demolition or put up for auction.  Far too many of these properties populate communities like East Cleveland - and as Norm mentioned many perpetuate the lead poisoning problem and become not only eyesores but health hazards as they are picked away by enterprising vandals.  The short term, minimal revenue collected by the vandal is offset by the property depreciation and health risk created.

This is a problem that could be best rectified by expediting the process of property valuation and subsequent determination.  If a property appears to be abandoned it should be quickly assessed and the owner identified.  Any foreclosures or liens should be quickly handled.  If the property is not reconstructable it should be demolished quickly - those pieces of value can be recycled or redeemed at that time to offset demolition costs.

If the property appears to retain sufficient foundation and value to be marketable then it should be land-banked by the city and these properties should be offered at attractive rates to developers willing to reconstruct them.  Preferably the developer would be one who would preserve the aspects of the property (i.e. facades, sculptures, etc) that mark its character and antiquity.  The developer could certainly generate profit by capturing the value gap between refurbished value and (initial investment+reconstruction expense).  Other value-creating ideas would be to employ unemployed laborers local to the community - these workers could pick up valuable construction skills through 'action learning'.

Now it really gets interesting if the reconstruction opportunity would incorporate green building so that the properties reconstructed are more energy efficient than before.  Also, mixed-use design would be preferable- constructions that feature storefronts on lower levels and living accomodations above, for example. 

Further inherent value would be created in incorporating lead abatement  processes so the finished product no longer exacerbates a prevailing and persistent lead poisoning problem. It has been estimated that close to 30 percent of East Cleveland's youth suffer from some degree of lead poisoning.

Let's design models like the one suggested here and work to address these abandoned properties quickly.  The revenue generated, energy efficiencies, and employment outcomes all speak to value greater than projected investments.  Let's not forget the community benefit generated in resulting property-value increases, increased habitation, and safety.

East Cleveland is a great place to employ such a model - let's plan and implement a coherent and sustainable redevelopment plan now! 

Just an update on this post which I did a year an a half ago:  About a month back I drove by the site and an excavator was in the process of crushing the house into it's basement hole.  The home was right across the street from Sweet Daddy Tim's, but there's only fresh dirt across the lot now.  One more structure out of Cleveland.  Cuyahoga County, and the City of Cleveland by dumb default, now have their eye on demolishing the 29 story Marcel Breuer Building.  Bye, Bye.