Reusing Yesterday's Buildings for Tomorrow

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The deconstruction project was made possible through a contract between Dayton Works Plus and the City of Dayton .   This contract was part of a Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) that called for the removal of more than 1,000 vacant, abandoned homes in Dayton.   Rather than demolish the houses, Dayton Works Plus was developed to deconstruct the homes, saving vital material from landfills.

Dayton Works Plus is a partnership formed by East End Community Services, PowerNet of Dayton and Architectural Reclamation Company ARC (a private architectural reclamation business).  The goals of Dayton Works Plus are to employ and train (hard to place) entry level workers, including returning ex-offenders, and chronically unemployed with multiple barriers, for on-going jobs; divert materials from the landfills and promote green practices; and, create spin-off businesses (furniture, sheds, picnic tables, outbuilding construction) with recycled materials, and eventually establish  related businesses including landscaping, asbestos and lead abatement, weatherization, etc. that will add employment opportunities in our community.  Dayton Habitat for Humanity also planned a role in planning the deconstruction process and operates their own ReStore program.

East End Community Services was created in 1998 to respond to the needs of persons living in Twin Towers and surrounding neighborhoods in Dayton Ohio. East End's mission is to listen to and work with the residents of Twin Towers and surrounding neighborhoods to bring about a prosperous, healthy and caring community.   In fulfilling that mission, East End works with children helping them achieve success at school and home.  Our goal is to have children ready to succeed in school and ready to succeed as adults.   A critical part of that process is helping the families of those children.  With a high unemployment rate and a difficult economy, creating jobs became crucial to helping families survive.  This project was developed to grow new, sustainable jobs and at the same time, improve the neighborhood by removing vacant, dilapidated homes.  Rather than simply bulldozing these homes, we are saving materials.  The vacant lots in the neighborhood will be transformed into new, green, energy-efficient housing or additional green space.   This effort is critical to transforming the community and creating a place where children will thrive.

PowerNet of Dayton is a grassroots, community based, not-for-profit organization founded in June of 2002 to empower poor inner-city communities to define and enhance their quality of life. After spending our first 12 months doing community organizing, social service and grassroots (door-to-door) research, coalition building, conducting focus groups and think tanks, and building relationships with community and faith based groups from different religious traditions, PowerNet came to the very clear and definitive conclusion that a comprehensive, faith based, family centered ex-offender reentry initiative was the best possible strategy for addressing the greatest challenges, i.e., crime and poverty, which limit the quality of life within inner-city communities.

Architectural Reclamation Company is a private company that retails reclaimed materials from homes and buildings in Dayton.  James Kent, the owner, is one of the founders of Dayton Works Plus and the Deconstruction Depot.    ARC is part of the James Kent Development Group that provides full service planning, design and construction services.

                                                  East End Community Services   624 Xenia Avenue    Dayton, OH 45410  

                                                 Phone 937-259-1898   FAX: 937-259-1897   Email: ajomantas@east-end.org