The City of North Royalton received a gift from Cuyahoga County in the form of a foreclosed property. The County transferred the State Road property over to the city, according to Mayor Bob Stefanik. North Royalton Community Development Director Tom Jordan said that the city has been eying the property for some time, as they learned that it would be going into foreclosure.
Cuyahoga County will transfer foreclosed properties to cities, if no one else wants them, said Jordan. They originally had a policy that foreclosed properties would automatically go the city. They then changed the policy to reflect that if a speculator was interested, it could go to them at a reduced tax rate. The County then experienced some problems, as some speculators left the property vacant and unkept. They then changed their policy again, asking the cities first if they wanted the property, then going to the speculators. Jordan noted that about 90% of the foreclosed properties that the city is offered by the County are not accepted, as they are unusable.
The city does not pay for the property, nor is it responsible for the payment of unpaid taxes. It does not have to pay taxes on the property going forward, unless it is being used for a for-profit operation.
The property has a frontage of 85.1 feet and a depth of 519 feet, with a total square footage of 43,435. It is zoned Residential. It fronts on State Road, just north of the YMCA driveway.
According to County records, the property tax, which had been accruing since 2010, was delinquent by $8,442.23. The market value of the property is set at $27,400.00.
According to Stefanik, the property is being added to the YMCA property, which the city owns. The YMCA property, including the building, is owned by the city and is leased to the YMCA for recreational purposes. Stefanik said that for the time being, the YMCA will keep the property as a green space.
North Royalton YMCA Director, Brandon Bussey stated that no formal plans have been made on how the property will be used, as the lease that the city holds with the YMCA has not been redrawn to include the new property. He did say that since a major portion of the property the YMCA sits on is a wetland area, there really isn’t that much green space that is usable. He said that he can foresee the property being used for youth sports, for family events and/or outside exercise. He notes that the YMCA has been using off-site areas for some of their events. Sports, like flag football, which will take place this year at Valley Vista, could possibly be moved to that location in the future. He also mentioned possibly a sand volley ball court or a pavilion. Bussey said that a more formal plan will probably take place sometime next spring for the future use of that space.
By GLORIA PLEVA KACIK
Contributing Writer