The Knox County Land Bank Board of Directors is scheduled to receive updates on Heartland Commerce Park and various grants at its meeting on Thursday. The board will convene at 9 a.m. in the Knox County Commissioners' office.
According to the agenda, the board will review a financial report for December 2024. Discussions will include Ohio Land Bank Association membership and a progress report on the Welcome Home Ohio program. The program received 13 applications by the December 3 deadline, with Habitat for Humanity reviewing them. The nonprofit indicated that five applications were likely to be approved. Foundations have been excavated for the next stage of housing, which is expected to be completed in April.
The agenda also includes construction updates on properties at 18 East Vine and demolition progress at 9441 Salem Road and 404 N Sandusky Street. Updates on operations, acquisitions, and foreclosures at Heartland Commerce Park are also anticipated.
According to the Knox County Land Bank's January 16 agenda, during its last meeting in December, the board received updates on pending grant work. They were informed about an $820,000 brownfield grant awarded for remediation projects within Heartland Commerce Park, including asbestos removal and demolition of the Power House building.
The meeting agenda noted that Jeff Gottke, President of the Knox County Area Development Foundation, provided a Heartland Commerce Park update in December. He said that the land bank's development arm, CDPC (Community Development Partnership Corporation), is expected to be dissolved this year. Grant funding allocated for parking lot improvements necessitated waiting until project completion before dissolving CDPC. The development arm had set a budget for 2025 with awareness that it might not operate throughout the year. Gottke mentioned that remaining common area improvements should be finished in early 2025. Once electrical systems are separated with each building receiving its own meter in the coming months, demolition of the power house can proceed.
