State-funded program increasing local housing options
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) — The City of Youngstown is beginning to see the benefits of the new Welcome Home Ohio program.
The program includes funding for the construction and rehabilitation of residential properties, and the Mahoning County Land Bank and Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation (YNDC) are taking full advantage of it.
Representatives of both organizations showed WKBN the progress of a renovation that is currently underway at 3551 Shirley Road.
The property was among those identified as vacant and tax-delinquent during a citywide survey released in 2023. YNDC was able to purchase the property during a sheriff's sale and received funding through the Welcome Home program to purchase and help renovate it.
'Those dollars were really critical to us being able to push this forward and in a fairly fast timeframe, I would say,' Debora Flora, executive director of the Mahoning County Land Bank.
YNDC Executive Director Ian Beniston said the funding allows them to sell the property for an affordable price to a person who will live in the home.
As part of the Welcome Home Ohio requirements, the Lank Bank cannot sell the home for more than $180,000, and the property must be sold to an individual who earns not more than 80% of the local median income at the time of sale for 20 years after the date of purchase. Buyers must live in the home for five years or face a penalty.
Through the program, buyers will receive homebuyer counseling.
Beniston said through YNDC's other partnerships, buyers can also receive downpayment assistance, possibly up to $28,000.
'The idea is not for someone to buy this and then flip it themselves and make it a rental. The idea is that for at least 20 years, this is going to be an affordable homeownership opportunity for a family or multiple families if it's sold,' he said.
YNDC and the Land Bank have been working together for some time to eliminate blight, which has created vacant lots across the city. With the available funding, there is now an opportunity to rebuild in those areas.
They are working on six rehab homes through Welcome Home Ohio right now, six new builds are wrapping up, and 19 new builds are starting soon.
Beniston also discussed progress on a project to build six new homes on Mineral Springs Avenue. The Land Bank acquired the vacant land years ago but there hadn't been an opportunity to rebuild the area until recently. The project included removing the blight and rebuilding the area from the ground up.
'This is kind of a special moment if we look back on the last 20 years of starting to get some more momentum, and something that we've been, I think, looking forward to and building toward for a decade,' Beniston said.
Beniston said all of the homes will be listed with a realtor, and there is typically a lot of interest in them. Buyers will need to have a realtor but can contact YNDC with interest in a particular property to be added to a list for notification when it is listed.
'Generally speaking, I think these are the best deals on the market. When you look at it, we're going to be selling brand-new, three-bedroom, two-and-a-half bath, newly constructed houses for $180,000. There's nowhere in the five-county region that you're going to be seeing that type of product on the market for that price,' Beniston said.
Vacant homes under renovation through Welcome Home Ohio in Youngstown include the following:
3551 Shirley Road
734 W LaClede
870 Canfield Road
3222 Sheridan Road
2502 Stocker
4340 Helena
Flora said there are a couple of Welcome Home Ohio-funded projects in the works in other areas as well.
Other homes that YNDC is working on include the following:
844 W Indianola
741 Sherwood
734 W LaClede
870 Canfield
3222 Sheridan
3310 Sheridan
2502 Stocker
4340 Helena
3551 Shirley
512 Clearmont
733 Lake
2653 Pearce
2655 Pearce
2657 Pearce
818 Billingsgate
On Thursday, YNDC also plans to break ground on phase two of a project to build three new duplexes on Glenwood Avenue. That project is funded by the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh Affordable Housing Program, Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati Affordable Housing Program, Mahoning County and the Raymond John Wean Foundation.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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