Empty homes weighing down Lancaster
Lancaster Eagle Gazette – LANCASTER — Vacant housing is a mounting problem for Lancaster and other local governments in Ohio, and increasingly small and mid-sized cities are being dragged down by crumbling, unkempt housing.
An estimated 130,000 houses, apartments and mobile homes have become vacant in Ohio during the past 10 years, according to data provided to CentralOhio.com. Beginning in 2000, vacant housing in the state grew on average more than 5 percent every year, a rate one-quarter higher than the national average.
