For more than one year, the Crawford County Land Bank has been working to reduce the number of blighted homes in the county. That work is beginning to pay off, as the first round of home demolitions for Land Bank homes began earlier this month.

The list includes six properties in Galion:

248 South Street

356 Oak Street

407 Fairview Avenue

411 South Boston Street

867 East Walnut Street

1265 Harding Way East

In addition, four homes in Bucyrus, two in Crestline, and four in Tiro, will be or have been addressed. This is the first round of demolitions; several other demos have been bid and several more are going through the foreclosure process.

Crawford County received a $1.7 million grant to demo or rehab homes acquired by the Land Bank. Homes are eligible if they are in tax foreclosure or the owner donates the property. If you are interested in donating your property to the Land Bank, please call the Crawford County Treasurer’s Office at 419-562-7861.

After the demo work is completed, the property can be turned over to adjacent property owner(s). If you live next to one of these properties and want to acquire it, you may fill out an application (click the link below). You must be current on your property taxes in order to be eligible.