Have you heard? Forest Hill residents are stepping up to make their neighborhood Cleveland’s premiere destination.

In recent news: Reilly Painting & Contracting, Reilly Properties and E-Reilly Consulting have all come together to form the Campaign for Forest Hill. This campaign is a new initiative that plans to tackle the epidemic of vacant and abandoned homes in Forest Hill, and to return the community to its original status as a premiere, inner-ring neighborhood in Greater Cleveland.

Though the issue of vacant homes in Cleveland and communities all across the U.S. has made its way into the news and everyday conversation, we still aren’t seeing a proportional response of action to follow. We keep running into the same situations where the homeowners have moved on and simply left the property behind, or new, ill-equipped homeowners were left to take care of a house that was bestowed upon them by their parents or relatives. Whatever the case, these homes affect the property values of surrounding homes and the quality of life in the Forest Hill neighborhood.

Where We Stand

Since the inception of the Campaign for Forest Hill, E-Reilly Consulting has been gathering detailed information on these neglected and vacant homes in Forest Hill. After a relentless process of interviewing homeowners, working with Fast Track Title, surveying homes and researching online, our census outlining the status of these neglected homes is complete!

Over 1,000 homes that make up the Forest Hill neighborhood have been separated into three precincts with highlights of all the vacant properties and roads that need to be repaired. The map above shows the three different precinct, and each colored dot represents a vacant or abandoned home.

A red dot symbolizes a LEVEL ONE type home (the worst it can get), an orange dot is a LEVEL TWO type home (home is in some sort of violation), and a yellow or green dot is a LEVEL THREE home (suspicious home). The black lines indicate roads in need of repair. The census was completed on June 10, and since then, the team has been communicating with some of the homeowners about the future of their homes, cleaning up and lawn cutting abandoned homes, and talking to investors about the future of this new, revitalized neighborhood.

As time passes and progress is made, there will be noticeable changes in the neighborhood. Homes will be restored and turned over to responsible homeowners. Property values will rise. Forest Hill, Cleveland's undiscovered gem, will now be a destination.

For more information about the Campaign for Forest Hill, please visit the website: www.foresthillcampaign.com