Ricardo León today officially became only the second president in the history of the Cuyahoga Land Bank (CBL). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.
Will oversee $67M in new Brownfield projects
Ricardo León gained something by losing something. He lost the prefix “Interim” prior to his title of “President” of the Cuyahoga Land Bank, a private, nonprofit government entity whose mission it is to acquire properties, return them to productive use, reduce blight and increase property values in Cuyahoga County.
Today, the land bank’s board of directors named León, 32, to the position, officially making him only the second president in the 15-year history of the land bank. León will fill the president role immediately. With that, he will gain oversight of the land bank’s noble community purpose and a new. large infusion of state grants to carry it out.
The decision comes six weeks following his appointment as interim president after land bank founder and President Gus Frangos, 69, passed away from an apparent heart attack on Aug. 10. Frangos, a lawyer and the land bank’s general counsel, was instrumental in getting the Ohio General Assembly to pass legislation so land banks could be created statewide.
Board members cited León’s extensive, relevant and diverse professional history as making him the perfect fit to fill the open position. He joined the land bank more than two years ago as its chief operating officer.
Prior to joining the land bank, León led Metro West Community Development Organization as its executive director for nearly five years. He also serves on a variety of other nonprofit boards that support Cuyahoga County residents including the Western Reserve Land Conservancy.
The Cuyahoga Land Banks’ clean up of a former industrial site overlooking Cleveland’s Edgewater Park will allow it to be redeveloped with the 13-story Shoreway Tower apartments (EAO).
“Ricardo León has the experience, vision and track record to lead the Land Bank into the future,” said Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne in a written statement. The formal name of the land bank is the Cuyahoga County Land Reutilization Corp.
“Ricardo learned from the best in land banking, Gus Frangos, and has shown his ability to achieve results through his previous experience leading the Metro West Community Development Organization and as the Land Bank’s Chief Operating Officer. I look forward to working with Ricardo to build better communities throughout Cuyahoga County,” Ronayne said.
Cuyahoga Land Bank Board Chair and Warrensville Heights Mayor Brad Sellers seconded Ronayne’s comments.
“Ricardo has illustrated leadership, knowledge and experience since his first day as the land bank chief operating officer,” Sellers said. “It is a natural transition for him to move into the president role, and we support him as he moves this organization forward.”
The day before Frangos passed away, the land bank won its largest score of Ohio Brownfield Program grants to repurpose blighted, long-fallow properties. More than $67 million was awarded by the Ohio Department of Development to the land bank.
The Circle East redevelopment in East Cleveland is an ambitious effort to restore the west end of this distressed community with new infrastructure, businesses and housing along and near Euclid Avenue just east of booming University Circle (RDL).
With that funding, it will carry out more than 1,000 structural demolitions county-wide. Most of those will be residential restructures, but it will also include the clean-up of large commercial sites so they can be repurposed with productive uses.
Commercial properties to be cleaned up by the land bank using the newly awarded state Brownfield grants include the Bedrock Riverfront Development and former Juvenile Justice Center in Downtown Cleveland.
Brownfield projects in city neighborhoods are the Shoreway Tower in Battery Park, the former National Acme plant in East Glenville and the St. Luke/Greenline buildings in Old Brooklyn. Suburban sites are the redevelopment of Sherwin-Williams’ Automotive Division in Warrensville Heights, and the vacant Sears Department Store at Southland Shopping Center in Middelburg Heights.
The land bank is leading the redevelopment of the Circle East in East Cleveland, near University Circle. That includes infrastructure work, demolitions, redevelopment and new construction of housing and commercial structures. It is also charged with the demolition of the long-abandoned 13-story Huron Place apartment tower in East Cleveland.
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