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Land Bank receives funding assistance

It has been nearly two years since the Chautauqua County Land Bank received grant funding from the state.

Because of the lack of funding assistance from the state, land bank officials went to local sources to acquire money to continue its programs in 2022.

Gina Paradis, land bank executive director, said land bank officials have received Community Development Block Grant funding from the city of Dunkirk that will allow the organization to expand its Hands On Neighborhoods program into the municipality in 2022.

The Hands On Neighborhoods program was a pilot program started in Jamestown this year developed by the Chautauqua County Land Bank Corp. in collaboration with the city of Jamestown, Jamestown Renaissance Corp. and Zion Covenant Church.

Program sponsors include Lakeshore Savings Bank and Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency, in addition to the Jamestown Tarp Skunks, ERA Real Estate, Ralph C. Sheldon Foundation and the Jim Cama family.

The Dunkirk funding will also be used for lead abatement for first-time homeowners in the city.

Paradis said land bank officials also received a $300,000 grant from the Sheldon Foundation.

“The Ralph C. Sheldon Foundation recognizes the land bank’s unique role in improving housing in Chautauqua County while also removing blight,” said Linda Swanson, Sheldon Foundation executive director. “For that reason, the foundation is making a strategic investment in the land bank in 2022, as it navigates the ongoing challenges of the local real estate economy and seeks new funding sources.”

Paradis said the Sheldon Foundation grant will partially support the administrative operations of the land bank, while the majority of funds will be allocated to programs that impact healthy housing standards, including lead-safe programs, primarily in Jamestown.

“The fact that the Sheldon Foundation has dedicated this funding to us, at this time, means a great deal to our organization and our mission,” Paradis said. “We are humbled by their acknowledgment of the positive impacts we’ve made in the community, and bolstered by this support as we face the imminent housing crisis caused by COVID.”

John Hemmer, county Legislator and chairman of the land bank, said the land bank’s staff and board have done an excellent job of building up revenue reserves, generated from housing sales in the Sales 4 Rehab Program to help provide some gap funding to keep operations going, but the commitment from the Sheldon Foundation is much needed and “greatly appreciated.”

Paradis said land bank funding from the last grant it received from the state Office of the Attorney General, which is administered by Enterprise Community Partners and LISC, needs to be spent by the end of the first quarter of 2022. The land bank in November 2018 received $2 million from the state during the fourth round of funding from the state Office of the Attorney General. In 2020, the land bank received an additional $500,000 in funding from the state as part of a second phase of funding during the fourth round.

“Those funds from the last round had to be spent down technically by the end of (2021). However, they extended our actual spend down through the first quarter of 2022,” she said. “Many of the land banks were behind because of COVID on some work, so now we have until the end of the first quarter to disperse the money.”

Paradis said the land bank has about $300,000 left of the grant, which will go toward demolitions and special projects.

“We have two renovation projects we are undertaken that got put on hold because of construction cost tripling,” she said. “Also, we have demos that are in process, but aren’t finished yet.”

Paradis said it’s unknown if there will be a fifth round of funding from the state Office of the Attorney General, who secured the funding through settlements with the nation’s largest banks over misconduct that contributed to the housing crisis. During the first round of funding in 2013, the county received $1.5 million. During the second round of funding in 2014, the county received $1.3 million. During the third round of funding in 2017, the county received $1.1 million.

Also, there has been no progress in convincing state officials of including a dedicated funding line in the state budget for land banks.

“So are funding that comes from the state is no longer there,” she said. “We still haven’t been able to negotiate a designated line of funding (in the state budget.)

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