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Community Progress regularly posts to this blog on a range of related topics to help communities across the country turn vacant spaces into vibrant places. Please check back regularly, and sign up for our newsletter to receive the latest news directly in your inbox.
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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….
Read More »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…
Read More »It is with deep sorrow that we mourn the passing of Gus Frangos, Founder and President of the Cuyahoga Land Bank.
Read More »Revisions to the 203(k) Rehabilitation Mortgage Insurance Program aim to make it more accessible and effective and increase the number of 203(k) consultants.
Read More »So you want to attend the Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference (RVP). It sounds awesome, right? Three days of networking, learning relevant skills, and seeing real-life examples of neighborhood revitalization up close. But your boss needs some convincing. After all, you’ll have to be away from your day job and spend…
Read More »Residents who live near vacant, abandoned, and deteriorated (VAD) properties acutely understand their negative physical, mental, and financial impacts. But each VAD property has a unique story—and that property’s history is not always obvious. Imagine your family has a home that has been passed down through multiple generations. Your grandparents…
Read More »To address vacant, abandoned, and deteriorated (VAD) properties, local governments must first identify what types of VAD properties exist in the community. Some properties are abandoned with no mortgage and near tax foreclosure. Some fall into disrepair during a long mortgage foreclosure process. In other cases, a property owner may…
Read More »A letter from our CEO & President about our work in the first six months of 2024.
Read More »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.
Read More »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.
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