Local

Dayton is littered with cheap, empty buildings so why is the non-profit food bank building a new one? This sounds like a scam paid for by taxpayers.

"The new building, at the corner of Armor Place and Hartford Street, will allow The Foodbank to double its cooler and freezer space, add trucks to pick up more food and create a farmers’ market room for fresh fruit and vegetables, Dannin said. The organization purchased the 7.6 acres of land in February for $5 from the city of Dayton, which had marketed the land for several years but failed to attract an offer because of the site’s poor accessibility, the newspaper previously reported.
The Foodbank now operates out of a 24,000-square-foot warehouse rented at 427 Washington St. CEO Michelle Riley said the building has housed the organization for 20 years.
The $2 million project, led by Ferguson Construction, is expected to be completed for a January 2014 move-in, Dannin said. It will result in an additional four jobs, she added."

$2 million when they could just rent more space? That's nuts. So taxpayers lost out on the city selling 7.6 acres of land for $5 too. The city tried to sell it at too high a price, then sold it at a ridiculously low price instead of auctioning it off to the highest bidder so it could be put to best use. Why did it own that land anyway? Over half the food bank's money comes from taxpayers. Everybody who works there makes pretty good money.

Because the city keeps stealing property, it's battling overgrown lots.