The community engagement and local partnerships, and with resources from the WK Kellogg Foundation the Land Bank aims to leverage its properties in the Neighborhood Planning Council 2 (NPC2) area by creating and implementing a land re-use strategy. The three-year grant runs from 2021 – 2023. Harnessing the long-term land value with targeted investments by the Land Bank and others will help position these properties for future re-use, including neighborhood scale infill development opportunities.

The work also includes a handful of demolitions (completed in 2021), two residential rehabilitations, and two housing infill projects are proposed. Additionally, the Land Bank will bring its expertise and resources to local residents offering pilot programs to demystify the basics of property information, building assessment and redevelopment. Building trades training, landscape and beautification projects will also be part of the mix.

The needs and desires of the neighborhood will determine much of the “how” and aligning with existing efforts in crucial to attaining maximum benefit from this strategy. This work cannot succeed without support and leadership from community members in the NPC 2 area. Often Land Bank staff, residents and others will refer to the area as Washington Heights Neighborhood, but the grant was approved for the entire planning council area; therefore, the work encompasses all the land included within the boundaries of the planning council which stretches from Limit Street on the west to North Ave on the east, and from Lafayette on the southern border to Coolidge Ave W on the north.