Turning the page to 2015
Dear Cook County Land Bank friends and supporters:
Happy New Year! 2014 was an exciting year for the Cook County Land bank and I want to thank you all for your continued support. With your help along with the leadership of the Board and staff, this first year in operation has brought many notable accomplishments. We have established a solid foundation for the land bank and the development of an organization that will be able to take advantage of exciting new residential programs at Fannie Mae and truly regional economic development opportunities. As we evolve to take on more targeted neighborhood and commercial and industrial development, we will again be looking for your assistance to attract and partner with new leadership at CCLBA.
Our first executive director, Brian White, has done a tremendous job creating this foundation and his skills and experience in the start-up of the Land Bank have been invaluable. As we look to the next phase of the Land Bank, we are seeking a leader who will build upon all that has been accomplished and continue the mission of transforming communities.
Attached is a job announcement and position description to forward on to your networks. Resumes are due by January 30, 2015, 5:00 PM US Central Time. Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions.
Regards,
Bridget Gainer
Cook County Commissioner – Tenth District
Chairman, Cook County Land Bank Authority
Cook County Land Bank to Sell First Two Homes to Developers
By Mary Ellen Podmolik
The brick bungalow in Chicago’s Auburn Gresham neighborhood doesn’t look like much from the outside, with its windows covered with plywood, silver tape dangling from a second-floor eave and a blue tarp stretching across much of its roof. Its interior looks even worse.
But unlike a similarly boarded bungalow two doors away and tens of thousands of other vacant homes across the city and suburbs, this one and another in the Avalon Park neighborhood are special. They will be the first vacant houses to be overhauled and put up for sale as part of the Cook County Land Bank Authority’s ambitious, long-awaited effort to stabilize communities by ridding them of eyesores and attracting new residents and businesses. (more…)
The PrivateBank and the Cook County Land Bank Authority announce $10 million in Financing for Neighborhood Stabilization
The PrivateBank and the Cook County Land Bank Authority (CCLBA) announced the creation of a new partnership to help eligible participants realize the dream of homeownership by investing in rehabbing vacant homes in Cook County.
Investors “are not the highest and best use,” said Bridget Gainer, Cook County Commissioner and Chairman of the CCLBA. “There are a lot of attractive homes, but the longer a home sits, the harder it is to rehab. The average home buyer has few financing options for purchasing homes needing extensive rehab, so this responds to the pent-up demand for housing from people who don’t have access to cash, but want to buy and live in these homes.”
Doing Business with Cook County’s Land Banks
On July 24, more than 180 representatives from government, community, and real estate firms heard loud and clear – the Cook County Land Bank Authority and South Suburban Land Bank and Development Authority are open for business and ready to put more than 55,000 vacant and abandoned homes, buildings and parcels back into productive use.
The land banks and the Metropolitan Planning Council, in partnership with The PrivateBank, Chicago Rehab Network, Community Investment Corporation, Neighborhood Housing Services and Smart Chicago Collaborative, hosted the workshop to introduce participants to opportunities to partner with the land banks and to each other.
The interactive workshop outlined the land banks’ policies, powers and limitations and explained how community development corporations, neighborhood organizations, developers and investors can tap the land banks as resources. The workshop also covered topics including researching vacant properties, identifying financing options and determining the feasibility of projects. Additional workshops are being planned, so join our email list to be contacted with more information. If you were unable to attend, but would like to see the presentation materials, click on the links below:
Doing Business with Cook County’s Land Banks – Presentation
Doing Business with Cook County’s Land Banks – Resource Guide
Reckless Abandon
By: Allan Gallun & Micah Maidenberg
“With more than 55,000 vacant homes in Cook County, government leaders are coping with a catastrophe that invites comparisons to the Great Chicago Fire. ‘It’s like we are standing there on the day after (the fire) and everyone’s waking up and saying ‘OK, how do we rebuild in this new world in a way that’s smarter, knowing what we know now?’ ‘ urban planner Marshall Brown says. Public officials, including leaders of the new Cook County Land Bank, will face some hard choices as they decide….” Read more
Cities Set Up ‘Land Banks’ to Tackle Vacant-Home Problem
By: Mark Peters
“As the foreclosure crisis swells the ranks of abandoned properties across the U.S., local governments from New York to Missouri are adopting a new strategy to acquire and return to the tax rolls tens of thousands of empty houses and vacant lots. In the past year, Kansas City, Syracuse, N.Y., and communities in Pennsylvania, among others, have set up “land banks”—independent authorities focused on turning around derelict properties...” Read More