Warren transfers nearly $1M in grant funds for home builds

WARREN -- The Warren Board of Control on Thursday approved the transfer of $190,000 for each of five single-family homes to be built in the next round of construction by the Trumbull County Land Bank through Trumbull Neighborhood Partnership.

The $950,000 is funding the city obtained from the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development that was transferred Thursday to the Trumbull County Land Bank. The five homes will all be in the city.

The properties are at 158 and 300 Atlantic St. NE and 545, 555 and 565 Bonne Brae Ave. SE. The Warren Board of Control consists of Mayor Doug Franklin and Safety Service Director Eddie Colbert.

The five homes are the next phase of construction of homes like four TNP homes built and sold earlier this year on Drexel Avenue NW on the former Emerson School site. TNP plans to build two or three more homes on a section of Moncrest Avenue adjacent to the four Drexel homes.

Warren Community Development Director Mike Keys said at the Board of Control meeting Thursday that properties being used for the new construction were acquired by the Trumbull County Land Bank, which is run by the 16-year-old nonprofit organization Trumbull Neighborhood Partnership.

TNP Executive Director Matt Martin said later Thursday a groundbreaking ceremony for the new builds is expected to take place in December or January. He said he expects the the five homes discussed Thursday and five others to be constructed in 2027.

Keys said the philosophy behind the subsidized new construction is to overcome the perception that home builders cannot make a profit building homes in many areas of Warren "because they cannot sell a house in some of these neighborhoods for what it costs to build one."

He said through the HUD grant, the city is "not only subsidizing this, but we show there is a market, and gradually we can raise the valuations in the neighborhoods where it becomes more attractive for developers."

He said the next 10 new builds are a starting place for improving the housing stock in the city after many years of having nearly no new homes being built.

He said when the city went from a population of about 60,000 people to about 40,000, "we had 20,000 people, basically leave the City of Warren. And with that we started having abandoned houses."

Many of the houses were beyond repair, so what the Trumbull County Land Bank did through Trumbull Neighborhood Partnership was evaluate the condition of unoccupied homes. TNP demolished the homes that graded out as the lowest quality, leaving empty lots, he said. Those are the types of properties where new homes are being built, he said.

Keys said companies coming into Warren, such as Kimberly-Clark, which is building a large factory on the former Republic Steel property in Warren and Howland townships increase the demand for housing.

"There are 500 employees they are going to be hiring over the next couple of years," Keys said. "We have to find housing for these people, so this is an issue. At one time, we didn't really need all the housing.

"Now we are seeing more of an influx. We're seeing the market change, so it's time for us to start addressing the housing issues."

Keys said because the five homes on Atlantic and Bonnie Brae are getting U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development funding, only buyers who are at or below 80% of the median income for the area will qualify to buy them.