The Clinton County Land Reutilization Corporation (“Land Bank”) and the Clean Up Clinton County initiative has seen yet another successful rehabilitation project on a property they acquired earlier last year. The property at 865 W. Main St. in Wilmington was found in deteriorating condition. After a competitive bid process and year of cleanup and renovation, the property was revived and is ready for new occupants.

The mission of the Land Bank is to clean up vacant and blighted properties across the county to bring them back to productive use. Where this sometimes means demolition, it can also mean rehabbing old properties to make them livable again. This is exactly what Nayan Patel planned on doing for the West Main Street project.

Patel, alongside his family, placed the winning bid on the property with the goal to clean-up and renovate the two-bedroom, one-bathroom house. It proved to be a challenging task, but nothing a little teamwork couldn’t solve. Patel credits his contractor for most of the work as well as his time working with the Land Bank.

“Working with the land bank was a great experience. It is nice to see that the city is trying their best to clean up and make Wilmington feel more like home. We enjoyed being part of the process.”

The process started with the work of the property being acquired led by the support of assistant prosecutor Justin Dickman with the Clinton County Prosecutor’s Office and Annen Vance with Wilmington Code Enforcement. Then, in collaboration with local realtors, community members, and the Land Bank, the property was able to be cleaned up and brought back to life.

For 865 W. Main St., Patel said, “to see a property in such harsh conditions transformed into something beautiful means a lot to my family and me.”

If you or someone you know works to restore structures and is interested in partnering with the land bank, please email Ellen Sizer, [email protected] , at the Clinton County Regional Planning Commission.

For more updates and information on the Clinton County Land Bank and what properties are available, please visit: clintoncountylandbank.com.