Land Banks Archives - Center for Community Progress

Leaders in Land Banking: A Conversation with Adam Zaranko at the Albany County Land Bank

We spoke with the Albany County Land Bank Corporation’s Executive Director Adam Zaranko about affordable housing initiatives, the importance of diversified partnerships, and what’s coming up for the land bank in 2023. The Albany County Land Bank recently launched an innovative program to turn vacant properties into affordable housing opportunities….

Land Banks and Community Land Trusts: Emerging Partners for a Resilient and Equitable Recovery

This is an excerpt of Chapter 9 of Tackling Vacancy and Abandonment: Strategies and Impacts After the Great Recession, jointly produced by the Center for Community Progress, the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. It has been lightly edited and condensed for the web….

Approaches to Rural Property Vacancy in Law and Policy

This is an excerpt of Chapter 8 of Tackling Vacancy and Abandonment: Strategies and Impacts After the Great Recession, jointly produced by the Center for Community Progress, the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. It has been lightly edited and condensed for the web….

A History of Ohio Land Banking 2009–2021: From Legislation to Operation

This is an excerpt of Chapter 7 of Tackling Vacancy and Abandonment: Strategies and Impacts After the Great Recession, jointly produced by the Center for Community Progress, the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. It has been lightly edited and condensed for the web….

Communities Across the US Are Addressing Property Deterioration and Vacancy With ARPA

States, Tribes, counties, and municipalities around the country have been hard at work determining how to use their allocations from the American Rescue Plan Act’s $350 billion State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund – which we often clumsily abbreviate as the ARPA SLFRF. Every unit of government should have already received at least the first…

A Pioneering Approach to Bring a Legacy of Quality, Affordable Housing to Communities

Communities nationwide struggle with inventories of properties that are causing harm—properties that are vacant, abandoned, and deteriorated (VAD). Often these properties are concentrated in areas where an intentional history of racist policies resulted in disinvestment and denied homeownership for many Black families—a loss of wealth that has compounded across several generations. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated these racial disparities and community…

Community Progress Weighs in on $350 Billion ARPA State and Local Recovery Fund

Center for Community Progress recently submitted a public comment letter in response to the Treasury Department’s Interim Final Rule (“IFR”) implementing the American Rescue Plan Act’s (“ARPA”) $350 billion State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (“SLFRF”). The public comment period is open through Friday, July 16, 2021, and public comments…

An Unprecedented Opportunity for COVID Relief and Equitable Neighborhood Transformation

While the US is gaining ground in its fight against COVID-19, many communities are facing growing threats to neighborhood stability from its economic fallout. Unprecedented help is on the horizon for these communities, which could provide a momentous opportunity to spur equitable revitalization. Where we are today While the national unemployment rate has been dropping, [1] it…

New Scholarship Program Creates and Supports New Land Banks to Help with Equitable Revitalization

Community Progress’ New Land Bank Incubator Scholarship Program Supports New Local and State Land Banking Efforts WASHINGTON, D.C. – March 23, 2021 — The Center for Community Progress (Community Progress) announces the launch of a new scholarship program offering free technical assistance to communities seeking to create and use land…

Land Bank and Land Trust Leaders Express Support for Proposed $5 Billion to Revitalize Communities

WASHINGTON, D.C. – February 4, 2021 — Today, the Center for Community Progress (Community Progress) and Grounded Solutions Network (Grounded Solutions) expressed their support of new legislation that would invest $5 billion in flexible federal funding for distressed communities nationwide. The Restoring Communities Left Behind Act was introduced in the House of…

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