Part 3: Working with Housing and Development Partners

Building stronger communities requires a collaborative spirit, and we are fortunate to partner with these exceptional housing and development organizations.

Thriving Communities, a program of the Western Reserve Land Conservancy, works to revitalize neighborhoods by addressing urban blight, creating greenspaces and promoting sustainable land use. Thriving Communities collaborates with Cuyahoga Land Bank by working together on projects that repurpose vacant and abandoned properties, often coordinating efforts to transform these spaces into valuable community assets, such as side yards or green spaces.

Western Reserve Land Conservancy is a large land trust dedicated to conserving natural lands, protecting family farms and creating vibrant urban green spaces across Northeast Ohio. Through its Thriving Communities program, WRLC collaborates with Cuyahoga Land Bank to transform vacant and blighted properties into productive greenspaces, side yards and other community assets, contributing to neighborhood revitalization.

NEO CANDO (Northeast Ohio Community and Neighborhood Data for Organizing) provides accessible, comprehensive data and analysis on neighborhoods in Northeast Ohio. NEO CANDO supports Cuyahoga Land Bank by supplying data-driven insights on property conditions, vacancy rate, and market trends, which help the Land Bank make informed decisions about property acquisition and redevelopment strategies.

Center for Community Progress, the only national nonprofit dedicated to helping communities tackle property vacancy, abandonment, and deterioration, provides technical assistance and best practices to Cuyahoga Land Bank, helping them to develop and implement effective strategies for property revitalization and community development.

The US EPA Region 5 oversees environmental protection efforts in six Midwestern states, including Ohio. The U.S. EPA Region 5 collaborates with the Cuyahoga Land Bank by providing grant funding and technical assistance for brownfield remediation and redevelopment projects, helping to address environmental contamination and revitalize blighted properties. The EPA recently announced $6.5 million in brownfield grants through its Investing in America agenda to rehabilitate and revitalize communities in Ohio, including the Land Bank’s efforts to clean up the proposed Hillson Nut Company expansion project in the City of Cleveland. 

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) provides federal funding and support for housing and community development programs nationwide. HUD collaborates with Cuyahoga Land Bank by providing grant programs, such as those that support neighborhood stabilization and blight removal, which the Land Bank leverages to acquire, demolish and redevelop vacant and abandoned properties.