The Slavic Village project took an unusual approach, trying to completely eliminate blight in one small area at a time, priming it for further investment. Another innovation was working on property demolition and rehab at the same time.
Unusually active involvement by two private businesses, paired with two nonprofits, helped, said Lavea Brachman, with the Greater Ohio Policy Center in Columbus.
"It’s generating not just their own continued investment, but other investors are interested," she said.
Brachman said the Recovery Project’s close work with community institutions and thorough understanding of the neighborhood have also contributed to its success.
The non-partisan think tank’s report suggests this development model could also work well in other neighborhoods.