The Need for a Land Bank in Detroit

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The Need for a Land Bank in Detroit
Detroit LISC Anika Goss-Foster
Ohio Vacant Properties Forum
October 25, 2005
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Detroit LISC Land Use Strategy

• City-Owned Vacant Properties

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Detroit LISC Land Use Strategy

• City-Owned Homes

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Detroits Declining Population
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Detroits Housing Situation
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Abandonment of Commercial Property

• Percentage of Abandoned Properties in Eight
  Commercial Corridors in Detroit

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Why LISC Got Involved in Land Use

• The driving factors for LISCs investment to
  re-engineer the Real Estate and Development
  Departments at the City of Detroit
• Developers and CDCs were expressing frustrations
  at the extremely long and cumbersome
  pre-development sales process averaging several
  years
• Inaccurate information on availability of land
  and parcel data was passed on to developers
• Inconsistent disposition processes were followed
  by the different functions responsible for
  property sales within the organization
• The City of Detroit was not in a position to
  fully utilize the Land Bank legislation

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Overview of LISC Projects at the City
LISC contracted Deloitte Consulting to work with
the leadership at the City of Detroit to outline
the following business initiatives
LISC Projects
Project 1 Database Clean Up
Project 3 Business Requirements for New System
Project 2 Business Process Reengineering
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Development of the Coalition for a Detroit Land
Bank

• Partners
• Community Development Advocates of Detroit
• Community Legal Resources
• Detroit LISC
• Detroit Renaissance
• MOSES

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Development of the Coalition for a Detroit Land
Bank

• Past 13 months
• Researching Land Banks
• Educating community and political leaders
• Bringing in national presenters
• Goal
• Get the Land Bank Proposal
• Passed and Up and Running

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Detroit Land Bank Proposal

• Pilot Project 5,000-10,000 parcels in 2 or 3
  geographic areas
• Three (3) step formation process
• Seven (7) member Board of Directors
• Financial intermediary
• Non-profit real estate developer
• For-profit real estate developer
• At large community member
• Three (3) City of Detroit public officials

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A Land Bank

• Provides a One-Stop Shop for those seeking land
  in Detroit
• Coordinates Technology and Inventory Databases
• Demands integrated planning for development
• Promotes Collaboration between Governments- City,
  County and State

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How Detroit Can Use a Land Bank

• Expedited sale of lots
• Brownfield and other tax credits
• Improved title clearance
• Land assembly
• Private funding sources
• Regional and intergovernmental cooperation

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How Detroit Can Use a Land Bank

• New Resources to Neighborhoods
• Returning tax-reverted and government surplus
  property to productive use
• Strategic Tool in Detroit Development
• Expediting quiet title and resolving cloudy title
  issues
• Banking non-contiguous surplus property
• Creating strategic bundles using brownfield TIFs

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A Land Bank in Detroit Why it is so Important
Together we can preserve, revitalize and
redevelop Detroit!
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• and the
• Coalition for a
• Detroit Land Bank