Those stats come from the New York Land Bank Association, which recently looked at the 26 land banks in the state and what they accomplished from 2012-2022. In its 52-page report, which was compiled by Center for Community Progress, the New York Land Banks Association reports that statewide land banks have acquired over 5,000 problem properties, demolished 1,567 vacant structures, returned 3,231 properties to productive use, generated more than $300 million in private investment, and returned $135 million in assessed value to local tax rolls.

“Land banks are a powerful tool for counties to combat vacancy and blight in their communities,” said New York State Association of Counties Executive Director Stephen J. Acquario. “By bringing abandoned and tax-delinquent properties into productive use, these land bank interventions have curtailed the drain on local resources, stabilized property values, and made our neighborhoods safer places to live. We applaud the land banks for the results they have achieved over the past decade and look forward to using our continued partnership to expand affordable housing and build more equitable, resilient communities.”

LAND BANK PHILOSOPHY

Land banks are public authorities or non-profit organizations created to acquire, hold, manage, and sometimes redevelop property in order to return these properties to productive use to meet community goals, such as increasing affordable housing or stabilizing property values.

Submitted Photo The Portage Inn in Westfield was demolished by the county land bank after it was deemed unsafe.

The name explains that municipalities can take land and “bank” them for the right developer with a negotiated sale.

In 2012, Chautauqua County was one of first land banks in New York. Mark Geise, county Industrial Development Agency chief executive officer and deputy county executive for economic development, had attended a conference in Detroit about land banking. “The reason I went was because when we did the comprehensive plan that was adopted in 2011, several of the stakeholder groups had talked about looking into land banking with our foreclosed properties,” he said.

After that conference, Geise put together a plan for the county to have a land bank. Shortly afterward, New York state announced that it was creating a handful of land banks across the state and had funding available. “We were one of the first five that were chosen,” Geise said.

Geise said one of the advantages of land banks is when they take property, they have more control over what happens to it. “You can find a responsible developer for those lands,” he said.

By comparison, in a foreclosure, followed by an auction, the county has no control over who buys it. “Instead of just auctioning them off to the highest bidder, you pull out these halfway decent properties and then you have a negotiated sale, instead of just going to the highest bidder,” Geise said.

Submitted Photo This house on Crossman Street in Jamestown was in the process of being demolished by the county Land Bank when it was burned down by arsonists.

Sometimes, Geise said, a foreclosed property can be purchased by an out of town resident who buys it site unseen and just sits on it. Instead of improving the property, it just sits there and continues to get worse until they either re-sell it or abandon it. “With a negotiated sale, when we pull those properties out of the auction, clean them up and then advertise them, we have the opportunity to review their proposals and look at their backgrounds,” he said.

Also, with land banks, they can acquire multiple parcels in an area which can be “banked” and redeveloped together, particularly for commercial or industrial development.

One commercial project the land bank was able to help with is at the former Hideaway Bay Restaurant in Silver Creek. The property is being purchased by Adventure Sports Development & Tundo Construction for a $1.35 million development project. It will feature 10 waterfront cottages, a restaurant-bar and event space, and four seasons of diverse world-class active and passive recreation opportunities.

Geise said when state Sen. George Borrello was a county legislator he was able to get the land bank to take over the property, where it was cleaned up and marketed. “That property was foreclosed on and would have gone to the highest bidder and they could have done anything with it. Probably, I’m guessing, but probably what would have happened is someone would have bought that, tore the restaurant down and built a house there,” he said.

Geise admitted, while a house on the Hideaway Bay property “wouldn’t have been a horrible thing,” the county’s preference is to have something there that would benefit the community. Adventure Sports Development’s proposal is expected to create 30 construction jobs and another 30 full-time positions once its fully operational.

In 2014, Gina Paradis was brought on to the county Land Bank as its executive director.

She has continued the philosophy of finding the right type of buyers. “We can shepherd that sale through and ensure the purchaser does the responsible thing with the property,” she said.

Paradis said the county Land Bank has helped improve the housing stock and strengthen neighborhoods by them “strategically acquiring problem properties and shepherding through the sales process and the renovation process to make sure the right thing is done with the home.”

IDENTIFYING PROPERTIES

Paradis said generally as the tax foreclosure auction comes up, the land bank reviews the properties with the local municipalities and their code officers, and identify the problem properties. “Right off the bat, the first level of review, we’re trying to ensure any properties that are structurally unsound and need to be demolished are pulled off that auction list,” she said.

The next step, Paradis said, is to work with municipalities to identify “strategically important homes or properties” that they need help with. In some of those cases, they help find a good developer or help ensure the property doesn’t continue to languish.

The land bank also likes to identify properties near where they’ve had success before. They also look at properties near schools, or other places, to improve a neighborhood. “There’s a ton of criteria that we look at to try to be strategic in the homes that we target for acquisition,” she said.

Paradis also said the homes they seek need to be vacant. “We don’t want to displace people,” she said.

MARKETING THE PROPERTIES

Once the land bank takes possession of the property, they generally clean them out and take care of some of the yard work. Then they start the process of finding a buyer. “We market the property, make it available to the public and then the public are able to submit proposals with their plan for the property. Then our committee tries to choose the proposal that has the best overall plan and outcome for the property,” she said.

The buyer is required to do the renovations themselves, or have it done professionally.

In 2021, the land bank expanded its programming to include the Hands On Neighborhoods program, a multi-faceted initiative meant to build community through empowerment and inclusiveness, and increase home ownership in lower-income and underserved communities.

Components of the program include: Housing Fairs, Rehab Loan Program for income qualified residents, first-time homeowner mentorship, and Healthy Housing Rebates Program to address lead and remediate mold.

RESULTS

According to the state Land Bank report, over the last 10 years, Chautauqua County’s Land Bank has acquired 362 properties, completed 172 demolitions, leveraged $21.5 million in public and private investments, returned $8.5 million of assessed value to the property tax rolls, and made $1.5 million in sale proceeds.