An Ohio homeowner surrounded by 598 houses getting demolished said the teardowns have increased property values and improved his neighborhood

• There are thousands of homes left vacant from abandonment or foreclosure in Ohio.
• Policymakers are spending $150 million to raze thousands of homes to perk up local neighborhoods.
• Tony Kelly said the demolitions improved his area, from luring residents to lifting home values.

In 1989, Tony Kelly spent $20,000 on a three-bedroom home in Campbell, Ohio, a small town outside of Youngstown.