Stories of Impact

If you go to the grey stone building at 7240 S. Wentworth Ave. today, you’ll see people leaping, spinning, and shaking off the stress of the day at En Pointe Dance Productions. Next to the studio, you’ll see people coming out of a beauty salon, looking and feeling their best after getting a haircut or a new style. It’s hard to believe that the building was on the brink of demolition just two years ago, before being rescued by the Cook County Land Bank Authority. The vacant, two-story building in Greater Grand Crossing had been tax delinquent for years and [...]

Nonprofit and the Cook County Land Bank Authority turn abandoned property into family home March 22, 2021 (Chicago, Ill.)— Known for bringing smiles to children in the hospital with long-term health issues, the Superhero Collective will soon bring joy to a family impacted by a serious illness. With the help of the Cook County Land Bank Authority (CCLBA), the Superhero Collective is giving away a renovated, abandoned house in Evergreen Park, Ill. to the family of a child struggling with serious health problems. Throughout the year, Tim Brigham of the Superhero Collective dresses in movie-quality superhero costumes and cheers on [...]

Their rehab of a house next-door restored their property value Michael and Alissa Bolz of Lansing, Ill. used to live next door to a run-down, vacant property that was formerly owned by Michael’s grandfather. That property, vacant for two years, was eroding the value of their current home at the time—a home that was built by Michael’s grandfather in the late 1950s. So the Bolzes decided to do something about it.  In 2016, they decided they would try to purchase that home, fix it up and live in it. They submitted a bid for the house through the Cook County [...]

The Land Bank made homeownership near Lopez’s childhood neighborhood affordable Jose Luis Lopez wanted to live in the Hermosa neighborhood, where he was raised.  But the home prices are high, and that made it hard for him to get a bank loan. “Because I am self- employed, it’s complicated to get lending at a high price point,” said Lopez, who has his own home inspection business. Lopez learned about the Cook County Land Bank Authority’s Homebuyer Direct Program, which sells vacant homes to homebuyers at below-market rates, as long as they rehab the property and then live in the home. [...]

“It’s a beautiful day to buy flowers, balloons and more.” That’s the greeting you’ll likely hear for the long run when Starnella Johnson, owner of Ambassador Floral, or one of her staff members answers your call. The future of the floral shop’s home, located at 11035 -47 S. Halsted St. in Chicago’s Roseland neighborhood, had become uncertain in 2018, as it had in times past. But all that changed when Elisha Sanders, acquisition specialist at the Cook County Land Bank Authority, approached Johnson with an offer she never imagined possible: a chance to become owner of the building that she [...]