The trail on Arco dump operators has been moved from jury trail to bench trail. I do thank Nick Castele for reporting -  I recently asked him to continue his investigation:

From Crains:  Abandoned nearly eight years, the former Swingos on the Lake – the popular restaurant with unbeatable lake and downtown views – will soon be home to a new lakefront eatery thanks to the vision of local restaurateur Tony George.

Located on the ground floor of the Carlyle on the Lake condominium complex, the building has been vacant since the iconic restaurant closed its doors in 2009.  When the property fell into forfeiture after no bids were offered in foreclosure, the Cuyahoga Land Bank stepped in.  “With more than $300,000 owed in back taxes and significant condo association fees in arrears, the prospects for redevelopment were waning,” says Gus Frangos, the Cuyahoga Land Bank’s President and General Counsel.  “It’s a wonderful space that had been sitting vacant for a very long time.  We needed to find a way to ensure the property was returned to productive use and out of the hands of a speculator who could sit on the property, keeping it off the tax roll for years to come.”

After taking control of the property in late 2016, the Cuyahoga Land Bank began to put out feelers to local developers. After much discussion, George, who recently took over operations of Crop in Ohio City and also owns the Harry Buffalo chain and Barley House among other eateries, agreed to acquire and redevelop the property. Part of the agreement included a specification that George immediately begin paying the Carlyle Condominium Association Fees, which run several thousands of dollars per month, and real estate taxes once the sale is finalized.

The developer is currently working with his architect to assess the space and plan for the new restaurant and is confident he can return the property to its former glory. “We are investing more than $1.5 million in demolition and renovation, furniture, fixtures and equipment” says George.  “We’re in the demolition phase, and if everything goes as planned, we will be open by December.”

Although the concept is being honed, George is focused on ensuring it fits with the demographic of the area.  “We want to make sure we have the right concept that works for the building and its residents, for the city and for us.”

“The Cuyahoga Land Bank is a great mechanism for situations like this where a property sits vacant for years accumulating significant delinquent taxes,” says George.  “I can honestly say that if the Cuyahoga Land Bank didn’t get involved, we (nor anyone else) would NOT have touched this property

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CV-17-881301 STATE OF OHIO, EX REL. MIKE DEWINE, ETC. vs. ARCO RECYCLING, INC., ET AL.
BENCH TRIAL SET FOR 05/04/2021 AT 10:00 AM.

 Marc Dann - these ARE not Goood People - and now Ron O'Leary sits on the Board of Revision : see http://realneo.us/content/congratulations-w-mona-scott

https://eyeonohio.com/taxpayers-lose-out-on-at-least-11-25-million-homeowners-and-banks-lose-up-to-80-million-in-little-known-foreclosure-process-that-skips-sheriffs-sales/

The land bank then gave the property, valued at $144,500 in county records, to a private company which paid nothing for it. And taxpayers recovered none of the $68,089 in taxes and interest owed to them, money that could have gone to roads, schools, and emergency services. 

“The government can take properties through public domain. That’s been the law for decades. But there’s never been an occasion where the government has been allowed to take a property without compensating the owner for its value,” said former Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann, who represents Feltner in the case.

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Yesterday - I spoke at the 10/17 Metroparks Board Meeting about this very topic -abuse of media and real estate schemes capitalizing on trail development. 

Laura A McShane

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I posted my concerns at LinkedIN about Land Bank operating in Maple Heights.  To date it has the most views of any of my posts:

https://www.clevescene.com/cleveland/maple-heights-mayor-annette-blackwell-on-the-successes-and-struggles-of-one-of-the-regions-oldest-suburbs/Content?oid=31515937

The tone of this article is not good - as pointed out by other comments. Dropping point-of-sale inspections only sets up a repeat of the flipping that resulted in Slavic Village. Not a surprise, some of the same dirty players are involved. Why is Slavic Village Development Corporation working in another city, when their HUD funding through the Cleveland City Councilman Tony Brancatelli is FOR CLE - not Maple Heights. It is long past due, for the Attorney General to investigate Tony B and his Slavic Village CDC emails. He also chairs the Land Bank, which should NOT be witing out debt for the city of Maple Heights, which already struggles to fund services. Whose outstanding liens were let go under the former County Treasurer Jim Rokakis - and the now departed Cuyahoga County Fiscal Agent Dennis Kennedy? Finally, if a resident does not work and does not understand insurance and how to maintain a home - they SHOULD not own a home. Never fear -- CHN Partners is part of the CDC/Land Bank racket and they have restructured to absorb NHS - ran into the ground by Michael Cosgrove - disgraced former head of Cleveland's Community Development Department.