After a year of surveying nearly 122,000 parcels of land in Toledo, Lucas County Land Bank officials today will release the findings and comprehensive data that will help tackle the challenge of vacant and abandoned properties in the city.

The first-of-its-kind analysis of the city’s housing stock was conducted by volunteers and land bank staff going door-to-door in Toledo neighborhoods equipped with tablets and smartphones.

The massive database, which is available for viewing on the land bank’s website, includes photos of each structure, rates the unit with a letter grade of A though F, and notes the condition or damage of each property.

“For the first time in the city’s history we now have a data-based snapshot of the quality of housing in our community,” said Wade Kapszukiewicz, Lucas County treasurer. “As a result, community leaders and government officials will finally be able to make decisions to spend scarce tax dollars based on data instead of wild guesses, estimates, or hunches.”

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Mr. Kapszukiewicz, who also is chairman of the county land bank, which is formally known as the Lucas County Reutilization Corp., shared information on the database, which is called the Toledo Survey project, on Tuesday with The Blade editorial board.

He said the data-driven survey shows that Toledo’s housing stock is stronger than what some would had expected.

Of the 107,184 residential and commercial structures in the city, only 3.7 percent of them currently are in a condition that requires so much work that they should be demolished.

“I think that would pleasantly surprise many Toledoans,” the county treasurer said.

But there also are properties in many Toledo neighborhoods that are severely challenged and need to be demolished.

Totally ridding Toledo of the blighted 4,000 properties could cost up to $32 million, the report said.

“Before we began this project, no one really knew what the quality of Toledo’s housing stock really was,” Mr. Kapszukiewicz said. “Now, while we know that an overwhelming majority of homes in Toledo are strong, we also know that significant challenges remain, and, even better, we know where those challenges are and the cost to address them.”

With $7 million from the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, the land bank has demolished 862 blighted abandoned homes in the city since August, 2012.

An additional $9.2 million in grants from the Ohio Housing Financing Agency will allow the land bank to demolish another 950 homes by October, 2016.

The land bank said demolition costs are averaging about $8,000 for each structure.

In the five years of the land bank’s existence, nearly 200 tax-foreclosed homes and commercial buildings acquired by the land bank have been sold and fixed up.

The land bank began surveying structures in March, 2014, and ramped up data collection in June, finishing in March. The last month was spent crunching data and analyzing results, Mr. Kapszukiewicz said.

The land bank, which is funded by penalties paid by delinquent property taxpayers, completed the Toledo Survey project for about $60,000.

David Mann, land bank president, said 2,700 structures are rated D and F because of their conditions and should be demolished immediately.

Another 1,300 structures received a C grade in the ratings and could be eligible for future demolition.

Mr. Mann said the visual inspection of the structures’ exteriors showed roof or fire damage or a crumbling foundation that without immediate investment or repairs couldn’t be inhabited in the near future.

Overall, 84 percent of the city’s housing stock, whether single family home or multiple family dwelling, received A or B grades in the survey.

Mr. Mann said the survey showed that nearly 5,000 of about 95,000 residential properties were vacant and about 12 percent of the city’s 122,000 parcels are vacant lots.

“This shows there has been a reduction in housing because of demolition over time,” he said.

Mr. Kapszukiewicz said the comprehensive data on property in the community will help it better plan its future and meet the land bank’s goals of reducing blight, increasing property values, and strengthening and improving the quality of life for all residents.

By comparison to other cities that have conducted similar surveys, Toledo’s housing stock is in much better shape.

Gary, Ind., recently finished an 18-month survey of its 60,000 parcels several months ago to find that 12,394 structures, or about 27 percent, are blighted and many of them inhabited.

In mapping Detroit’s 380,000 real estate parcels, nearly 78,000 structures received a D or F grade, and getting rid of the blight could cost $2 billion.

“Our problem in Toledo is manageable. Our numbers are encouraging,” Mr. Kapszukiewicz said. “I come away with this encouraged because there really is a path to get something done.”

Contact Mark Reiter at: markreiter@theblade.com or 419-724-6199.

First Published May 6, 2015, 4:00 a.m.