PAULDING – Local civic leaders, elected officials and members of the
Paulding County Land Reutilization Corporation, commonly known as the
Land Bank, descended on West Perry Street here Wednesday morning to
celebrate a success story.
Jacob Gentz, owner of JakePlaces, hosted the open house for his newest home construction at 848 W. Perry Street.
“I
purchased a couple properties the Land Bank owned in January 2021. We
got started on construction. One house on Jackson Steet was completed
last August, and this one was completed at the beginning of this year,”
said Gentz.
“I really appreciate working with the Land Bank, the
village, and the county. Everyone has been accommodating and really
wants to see this be a success. One of the goals of this project was to
offer an affordable, entry level home with a unique design that would
get an initial spec model out in the community, so people can see what I
do.”
Gentz added that despite the challenges in the marketplace,
including supply chain issues, labor shortages and inflation, he is
proud he was able to get a quality house completed at an affordable
price for the new buyers. The house is expected to close by the end of
this week, and it will be purchased by an individual returning to the
area.
Greg White, Land Bank member and Paulding mayor, was
impressed as well, “This beautiful home is a perfect example of just
making the town better. It is what the Land Bank was created for, to
clean up lots and give individuals the opportunity to do something that
improves the village we live in.”
Paulding County Economic
Development Director Tim Copsey agreed, “This is the exact purpose of
what we are hoping to achieve with the Land Bank. The village was very
approachable and easy to work with on making this happen, because they
too saw a positive end goal that would regenerate taxes in the
community. It’s also exciting to bring someone from outside the area
back home.”
According to records from the Paulding County auditor’s
site, the Land Bank acquired the property in August 2018 from J.P.
Morgan Chase.