Jefferson County Land Bank unveils new Steubenville home in revitalization push

STEUBENVILLE, Ohio — A new home on Logan Street in Steubenville is now complete, marking the first of three houses the Jefferson County Land Bank plans to build this year as part of a broader community revitalization effort.

The land bank cut the ribbon early Friday morning on the newly built house, which was funded through the Welcome Home Ohio grant program. The program is aimed at building affordable housing in existing communities.

“This will be the cornerstone for the neighborhood coming back, and we can get these other houses rebuilt, fixed up, or leveled, or we’ll build new. The young adults of Steubenville need to know you have a place you can actually live and have a good job and have a life here in Steubenville,” said Rep. Michael Rulli, R-Ohio.

Officials said the home is 1,300 square feet and is the first in a number of similar homes planned for the area.

“We have a house here finally finished. We have a good plan in place. I think we have three houses this year we’re going to do. Our plan is to do six houses next year, 12 the year after that, and maybe 24 the year after that. We have a lot of interest in the area from different organizations,” Jefferson County Commissioner Jake Kleineke said.

“One thing you can tell being echoed over and over again is collaboration, and that’s what this project represents -- collaboration between the city the county private investors. And it’s amazing to see how things like this can develop over time to help our community. This is very important to the north end, it’s a new build which hasn’t been done here in a long time,” Steubenville Mayor Ralph Petrella said.