Slavic Village Rediscovered restored this foreclosed home in Cleveland, Ohio.Slavic Village DevelopmentCleveland’s metro area was hit earlier and harder by the 2007 foreclosure crisis than most cities in the US. Slavic Village, a neighborhood on Cleveland’s southeast side, experienced particularly bad aftershocks from the recession.
In the span of just three months in early 2007, 783 homes filed for foreclosure. Many of them ended up abandoned. As these homes decayed, they were broken into, vandalized, and sometimes stripped of piping and wiring, causing them to become havens for squatters.
Stacia Pugh, a longtime resident, believed that she could turn the neighborhood around. In 2013, she cofounded the Slavic Village Recovery Project, a company that partners with nonprofits to flip vacant homes. The renovated homes have sold anywhere from $50,000 to $87,000.
Here are a few of the recent rehabs, before and after.
The project, now called Slavic Village Rediscovered (SVR), fixes up abandoned homes in a one-square-mile section of the five-square-mile neighborhood.
A street in Slavic Village, Cleveland, Ohio.Slavic Village Development
The project started as a response to Slavic Village’s housing crisis, which started in 2007. By 2013, the neighborhood had more than 1,200 abandoned properties.
“It was a scary time,” Pughe told Business Insider.
Over the past five years, the team has completed more than 200 renovations. The first home, pictured below, sold for $52,000 in 2013.
3672 East 54 St., Cleveland, Ohio (before and after).Slavic Village Development
SVR demolished around 500 residences that couldn’t be saved in Slavic Village, one of Cleveland’s oldest neighborhoods.
“Some of the 100-year-old homes weren’t built to last 100 years,” Pughe said. “But many were built extremely well and had a lot of character. We tried to save those.”
The inside was a different story.
5707 Hege Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio (before).Slavic Village Development
In the garage, there was a nearly-collapsed ceiling and an abandoned car. The windows in the back were also boarded up.
More than 700 homes still lie vacant in Slavic Village, but Pughe said her team won’t stop until they’re all fixed up.
The steps of 3823 Cullen Drive, Cleveland, Ohio.Slavic Village Development
While SVR is now selling its renovated homes for more money than when it launched, the company is more focused on improving the neighborhood and providing affordable housing for longtime residents.
“We don’t really seek to make large profits,” Pughe said. “It’s more about rehabbing the homes, and building new opportunities for homeownership and racial equity.”
