OP shares the limelight … with Cleveland

How pervasive are home foreclosures? Overland Park appears in a national newspaper story on the subject — along with Cleveland and Flint, Michigan.

The USA Today story describes the growth of land banks, public authorities that hold, manage and sell vacant homes and tax-delinquent properties. Kansas City, Kansas, has one, as does Jackson County.

The Overland Park City Council created a land bank last month. The city is seeding the project with $700,000 in federal stimulus money.

City Manager John Nachbar (pictured) tells USA Today that the $700K will enable the city to turn around three properties, which is good and bad news. It’s unfortunate that so few houses will receive attention. But city officials and residents will be relieved to know that even in these recessionary times, $700,000 doesn’t go a long way in OP.