SitemapThe Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation, along with several partners has put together a study on the "health and stability" of the neighborhoods in the City of Youngstown.
YNDC says the hope of the study is to determine what impact they, and other groups, are having on the city's neighborhoods.
The data in the study picked up from 2014-15, when the first neighborhood action plans were completed.
"We're seeing some encouraging signs in that we're not just fighting to remain stable anymore, we've actually decreased the number of vacant houses, we are seeing an uptick in home values and we are seeing a slowing in the rate of new vacancy particularly in the action plan areas," explained Ian Beniston, the executive director of YNDC.
Some of the highlights from the report state that vacancy has decreased dramatically citywide, from 3,927 vacant structures in 2014 to 2,226 in 2018.
In addition, new vacancies have reportedly slowed according to the research, which states that between 2008-2014 approximately 278 structures became vacant citywide each year, but between 2014-2018 only 25 structures became vacant each year in all action plan areas combined.
The report also says that property values have increased significantly, from an average sale price of $35,235 in 2014 in action plan areas to $50,544 in 2018.
Where Neighborhood Action plans were put into place, YNDC says homeownership rates stabilized, whereas city-wide the rate of homeownership declined.
Similarly, in areas where YNDC and the Mahoning County Landbank intervened the rate of property tax delinquency decreased in half of them. The data says property rate delinquency was on the rise for the city as a whole, however. To read the full story from WFMJ, click here.