The number of vacant properties in Columbus neighborhoods has dropped nearly 50% in the past five years. The Columbus Land Bank, since 2012, has acquired over 2,000 abandoned and vacant properties in the city of Columbus. Roughly 1,500 of these properties have been demolished. Locals Esteban Saldarriaga, owner of “EyE Homes Inc.” and his wife, Erika, have been buying up vacant homes in hopes of renovating them and making them habitable once again, preventing neighborhoods and communities from being demolished and abandoned. Properties and neighborhoods that were once prime locations for illicit activities, such as drug trafficking and prostitution, are now seeing new life, thanks to EyE Homes Inc.
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“Even though we’re targeting the worst properties through Columbus neighborhoods, we’re finding a lot of people who are able to take those properties and do really good things with them…” says John Turner, an administrator of Eye Homes Inc. Their goal is to “bring neighborhoods back, while making sure they’re mixed income.” They have since partnered with nonprofit organization “Community Development For All People” in an attempt to sooner fulfill their goal.
Redeveloping Neighborhoods in Columbus was originally published on mycolumbusmagic.com
