Targeting more than a dozen abandoned houses that are dragging down home values in township neighborhoods, Franklin County Commissioners will kick off a new federally-funded series of housing demolitions - starting with a crime-ridden property in Mifflin Township.

Franklin County's Township Nuisance Abatement Demolition Program is aimed at demolishing structurally unsafe single-family properties in the county's townships (non-city areas). These abandoned structures often harbor pests and sometimes criminal activity. Removing these community eyesores helps to stabilize property values in the surrounding area.

Federal funding through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development - and a partnership with the Mid Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC) - will allow Franklin County to demolish a total of 17 abandoned houses this season in Mifflin, Clinton, Franklin, Hamilton and Madison townships.

On Wednesday, County Commissioners and township officials will kick-off this widely-supported program by joining demolition workers as they tear down an abandoned house at 2096 Minnesota Avenue - a property that has harbored several criminal incidents and unwelcome squatters in recent years.

WHAT:
First of 17 House Demolitions in County's Township Nuisance Abatement Demolition Program

WHO:
Franklin County Commissioner President Paula Brooks
Franklin County Commissioner and MORPC Board Chair Marilyn Brown
Mifflin Township officials

WHERE:
Abandoned house at 2096 Minnesota Avenue (Columbus 43211)
Between Parkwood and Purdue Avenues in Mifflin Township

WHEN:
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
10:00am