Celebrating 10 Years of Rebuilding Lawrence County

This year marks a milestone for the Lawrence County Land Bank: ten years of service to the communities of Lawrence County, Ohio.

When the Lawrence County Land Reutilization Corporation was incorporated in June 2016, the mission was straightforward but ambitious: take on the abandoned, tax-delinquent, and blighted properties holding our neighborhoods back, and return them to productive use through a transparent, public, and community-oriented process.

A decade later, that mission has reshaped communities across the county.

Since beginning demolition work in 2017, the Land Bank has removed more than 350 blighted structures from neighborhoods in Ironton, South Point, Chesapeake, and throughout Lawrence County. Each demolition represents more than a cleared lot. It means a safer street, a stabilized block, and a property that can once again contribute to the community instead of dragging it down.

Beyond demolition, the Land Bank has acquired and rehabilitated abandoned properties, connected cleared lots with responsible new owners, and partnered with pre-qualified local contractors through a competitive bidding process that keeps reinvestment dollars right here in Lawrence County.

From the beginning, the Land Bank has operated in the open: public board meetings every month, published minutes and financial records dating back to our first year, and a process anyone in the community can see and participate in. That commitment was recognized with an Ohio State Auditor Award for fiscal integrity, an honor we work to live up to every day.

None of this work happens alone. We are grateful to our board of local leaders, our county officials, the contractors who do the hard work on the ground, and most of all the residents of Lawrence County who trusted us with this mission for ten years.

Blight was not created overnight, and it will not be erased overnight. But ten years in, the momentum is real and growing. As we enter our second decade, the Land Bank remains committed to the same goals we started with: stabilizing property values, improving public safety, and restoring land to responsible stewardship, one property at a time.

Interested in an available property, or curious how the Land Bank process works? Visit our property listings or contact our office at 327 Vernon Street in Ironton, (740) 237-4565, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Here’s to the next decade of rebuilding Lawrence County, together.