Dayton reports 36 demolitions in May; staff say state-funded push met deadline

Dayton planning staff told the Dayton City Commission they completed 36 demolitions in May and have met a state-imposed deadline tied to a larger Ohio Department of Development (ODOD) award.

The update matters because the work is part of a larger demolition program funded by ODOD and local sources that officials say is meant to remove vacant, unsafe structures and support neighborhood recovery.

Steve Gondl, director of the Department of Planning, Neighborhoods and Development, said, "We had 36 demolitions, in the month. 33 of those were, Ohio Department of Development funded demolitions, 3 were ARPA." He told the commission the city has reached 100 demolitions so far in 2025.

Gondl corrected a prior report and said a previous ARPA total published last month was wrong: "There was a typo. I think last month, if you look back, I had 39 demolitions under ARPA. That was incorrect. It's actually 34, for ARPA." He said staff met the unexpected June deadline tied to the ODOD award and are processing paperwork to invoice the land bank and the state.

Gondl described the ODOD award as a partnership with the land bank that funded about 150 demolitions, "A 104 of which were in the city and the rest were in the county," and said city staff, land bank staff and demolition vendors worked to complete that work. He said the recent round focused on the far western edge of the city, including Greenwich Village and Residence Park, and noted 34 demolitions were completed in neighboring Trotwood under the contract the city facilitated.

He reported other May activity: 16 properties were added to the structural nuisance list (11 of those were related to an apartment complex on Riverside Ridge after a fire and continuing trespassing and vandalism), 29 asbestos surveys were completed in May and 10 asbestos remediations occurred. Gondl also said one "fire pile" was removed in May and none were added.

Commissioners praised staff for meeting the deadline and asked about next steps. Gondl said staff will use July to complete paperwork and expect to outline a return-to-normal schedule for ARPA- and city-funded demolitions, and that staff are preparing another list of properties in case additional ODOD funds become available.

Commissioners and staff named neighborhoods that will see follow-up work under ARPA and routine programs, including Southern Dayton View, the North Main corridor, Five Oaks, Westwood, Burkhart and Hillview.

The presentation did not include any formal vote or change in policy; commissioners asked staff to provide a follow-up memo for the city manager with timing for resuming ARPA and CDBG work and to track outstanding nuisance properties for enforcement and remediation.

Gondl and commissioners emphasized partnership with the land bank and other jurisdictions and noted that paperwork to secure final state funding remains outstanding.