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Land Banks

This article was originally published in the Summer 2014 issue of Breaking Ground, our quarterly newsletter. To receive Breaking Ground in your inbox, please join our email list. It might go without saying, but the City of Flint in 2014 is very different from the Flint of 1960. Decades of…

Building a movement: Michigan Land Bank Leadership Summit

“You’re going to be the vanguard for what will become a movement across the nation.” That was the call to action George McCarthy issued during a keynote address to the nearly 100 attendees at the Michigan Land Bank Leadership Summit (MLBLS), who represented over 30 counties throughout the State of…

10 new land banks authorized in New York!

(Learn more about what New York”s land banks are up to in the new report, “New York State Land Banks: Combating Blight and Vacancy in New York Communities.”) The number of land banks in New York is now set to double in the coming years. The New York State Legislature…

Webcast: Community Progress speaks on vacant properties and land banks at HUD

In conjunction with the release of HUD’s latest issue of “Evidence Matters,” Kim Graziani and Alan Mallach were invited to speak at HUD’s Quarterly Briefing last week. They were joined by U.S. Representative and Community Progress co-founder Dan Kildee (MI), Yolanda Chavez, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Grant Programs in HUD’s Office of…

Two and a half years in, land banking takes shape in New York State

(Learn more about what New York”s land banks are up to in the new report, “New York State Land Banks: Combating Blight and Vacancy in New York Communities.”) The house at 257 S. Collingwood Avenue is no longer abandoned. Last December, the Greater Syracuse Land Bank sold it to Shaqir…

Community Progress’ Kim Graziani and PACDC’s Rick Sauer talk Philly Land Bank on WHYY

“Will Philadelphia create a land bank, and how would it be most effective and equitable?” This was the question of the hour as Kim Graziani, Vice President of Capacity Building at Community Progress, and Rick Sauer, Executive Director of the Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corporations (PACDC) joined the Committee…

I Wish This Were a ______: A community re-imagines a blighted building in Lansing

Some chalkboard paint and a bucket of chalk turned a vacant eyesore into a canvas of possibilities in Lansing, Michigan’s Urbandale neighborhood. The abandoned, crumbling Paro Party Store had been a blight on Lansing’s East side for years. “I thought to myself, ‘Wouldn’t it be neat to have a co-op…

Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania shares land banking videos, feat. Kim Graziani and Frank Alexander

The Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania put together a Land Bank Headquarters page on its website, featuring training videos and in-depth interviews with experts from Community Progress and throughout the field, including Jim Rokakis of the Thriving Communities Initiative, Jons Kromer of the Fels Institute of Government, Katelyn Wright of the…

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How to Buy Property From a Land Bank

Find a land bank near you and make sure you understand what makes them different from traditional real estate sellers.

Five Innovative Approaches from Land Banks Across the Country

Five examples of creative approaches land banks have taken to addressing vacant, abandoned, and deteriorated properties.

Looking for a Land Bank Near You? This Map Will Help!

Learn what a land bank is, how it works, how to buy vacant property from a land bank, and if any land banks serve your community.

Why Land Banks Matter

For neighborhoods burdened by systemic disinvestment; vacant, abandoned, and deteriorated properties often become symbols of neglect. They pose social, economic, health, and environmental hazards to communities and residents. Addressing these properties requires intervention at multiple points and systems—and one powerful tool many communities use to address vacancy and promote equitable…

Celebrating Legislative Wins to Combat Vacancy in Missouri and Alabama

Effective legislation is a vital piece of equipping state and local governments to effectively address vacant, abandoned, and deteriorated properties (VAD). Through our Land Bank Incubator Scholarship Program, over the last three years Community Progress has been honored to support local efforts to craft and advance these pieces of legislation….

A Conversation with Crystal Loffler, President of the Office of Community Renewal

We sat down with Crystal Loffler, President of the Office of Community Renewal at New York State Homes & Community Renewal, to talk about unique and flexible funding opportunities available to land banks in New York State and what other entities can learn from her work. Can you share a…

What is a Brownfield?

Brownfield properties, often referred to as “brownfields,” are properties where the presence or potential presence of hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant makes redevelopment challenging and costly.

What is the Neighborhood Revitalization and Land Banking Act?

The bipartisan bill is an important step in giving rural, urban, and suburban communities the tools to address “blighted” properties. The key focus of the bill is providing support to land banks, a tool many communities are adopting to support economic and neighborhood revitalization.

The Problem with Calling Neighborhoods with Vacant Properties “Blighted”

Blight is a shorthand term many people use to refer to properties they perceive as problematic in some way.

How Vacant and Abandoned Buildings Affect Communities

Vacant, abandoned, and deteriorated (VAD) properties—referred to by some as “blighted properties”—pose significant costs to public health, property values, local taxpayers, and more.