‘Better Flip’ initiative looks promising

It’s encouraging to see a number of new community and economic development initiatives that have been launched recently in western Lake County.

For example, there’s the Wickliffe Euclid Avenue Corridor Committee, which formed in 2017. This group has been exploring ways to improve the city’s Euclid Avenue corridor, ranging from beautification projects to economic development.

A second project that involves multiple communities was launched earlier this year when Mayors Robert Fiala of Willoughby, Rich Regovich of Willowick and Dennis Morley of Eastlake pledged to work together to improve Vine Street between Erie Street in Willoughby and Lake Shore Boulevard in Willowick.

Another program that has caught our attention is one that aims to make a popular style of homes on the county’s west end more appealing to millennial homebuyers.

We think that “Better Flip” is an exciting and promising initiative for a variety of reasons.

First, this program could help breathe new life into the many older bungalows located in western Lake County.

In fact, there are about 15,000 bungalows built between 1948 and 1955 in Willowick, Wickliffe, Eastlake and Willoughby, said Mark Rantala executive director of the Lake County Ohio Port and Economic Development Authority. The housing stock is good, but the homes themselves are outdated. They don’t have things like open-concept kitchens, walk-in closets and master suites that young, modern homebuyers are seeking.

So how will “Better Flip” play a role in addressing these issues? Rest assured that the authority is not entering the home-flipping business. Instead, “Better Flip” takes an innovative approach to inspire and inform current owners and prospective buyers of the bungalows of how these homes could be transformed.

That plan took a big step forward in late March when the port authority board approved $150,000 to be used for renovation work at a Willowick home at 557 E. 305th St., which was donated to the agency by the Lake County Land Bank.

A website, a series of howto-videos and other pieces of information will be compiled to help guide homeowners

We think that “Better Flip” is an exciting and promising initiative for a variety of reasons.

and prospective homeowners through the process of updating the houses.

“The list we’re going to have for the people who go through it is going to start with building permits, architectural design, every step of the way with each of the individual trades because people who have never done this scale remodeling don’t know where to start,” Rantala previously told The News-Herald. “We’re going to try to take them through the whole process.”

Rantala said they’re going to make as many upgrades and renovations to the home as they can to show people everything possible they can do. He said they don’t expect people to do every single one, but pick and choose which projects to undertake. They’re also trying to use as many local subcontractors as possible to show people what is available.

Rantala said they’re still finalizing plans with the architect, but are hoping to begin work in May. When the project is completed, the port authority is anticipating having about three months of open houses before auctioning off the home.

While Rantala described the transformation of the home at 557 E. 305th St. as a “one and done project,” the greater goal of the open houses is to have the renovation ideas applied by others, whether it’s young buyers of homes, people looking to sell their homes or homeowners just looking to update their homes.

Carrying out the “Better Flip” initiative in western Lake County also seems to be a smart strategy in view of demographic trends.

It’s an opportunity, Rantala thinks, to bring young families back into the aging county, where at the current rate 34 percent of its residents will be over the age of 60 by 2030 and will outnumber residents 20 years and younger.

There are more retirees than people entering the workforce, Rantala said. Bringing in younger families could bolster the workforce in the county, where he said there will be shortages in a decade.

As various groups and government entities consider ways to revitalize business districts and major thoroughfares in western Lake County, it’s good to see that a specific and significant segment of the housing market is getting a closer look as well. We commend the Lake County Ohio Port and Economic Development Authority for developing the “Better Flip” initiative and hope that the program is successful.