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.

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Cuyahoga Land Bank acquires vacant, abandoned and tax-delinquent properties, many of which are located within the City of Cleveland. Vital revitalization work relies on our strong partnerships with the City of Cleveland, inner-ring suburbs and numerous other cities across Cuyahoga County.

Cuyahoga Land Bank and these municipalities share the goals of reducing blight, revitalizing neighborhoods and promoting economic development. This shared vision drives our collaborative efforts. Each city works with the Land Bank to determine the best use for these properties, considering factors like zoning, community needs and development plans.

The City of Cleveland provides funding and resources to support many of the Land Bank’s initiatives. This funding allows the Land Bank to undertake activities like demolition, rehabilitation and new construction. For example, the city recently allocated American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to the Land Bank for housing revitalization projects in legacy communities. Per state law, the board of directors of the Cuyahoga land Bank has representation from the City of Cleveland to ensure the city has a voice in the Land Bank’s operations.

First Suburbs Consortium of Cuyahoga County works to address the shared challenges facing older, inner-ring suburbs, and they collaborate with the Cuyahoga Land Bank to revitalize neighborhoods by strategically acquiring and redeveloping vacant and blighted properties within their member communities. The Land Bank recently partnered with the Consortium to identify zoning issues in Cleveland’s inner-ring suburbs to make the construction of infill housing more achievable throughout Cuyahoga County by updating, in some cases, turn-of-the-century zoning codes.

The Site Readiness for Good Jobs Fund (SRF) is a nationally unique nonprofit aimed at breathing new life into 1,000 acres of neglected real estate in northeast Ohio, catalyzing the creation of 25,000 jobs, supporting neighborhood vitality, building wealth among residents and enhancing environmental sustainability. Read about the SRF’s recent State of Ohio $7.6 million brownfield remediation grant for a critical project in East Glenville and Collinwood HERE.)

Cleveland Neighborhood Progress is a local intermediary organization that supports community development corporations (CDCs) in Cleveland, fostering neighborhood revitalization.  CNP facilitates collaboration between CDCs and the Cuyahoga Land Bank, helping to coordinate redevelopment efforts and ensure that Land Bank projects align with community needs and priorities.

Cleveland Restoration Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and revitalizing the architectural and historical heritage of Cleveland and Northeast Ohio. The Restoration Society collaborates with the Cuyahoga Land Bank by providing expertise on historic preservation for properties being redeveloped, and by advocating for the reuse of historically significant structures that the Land Bank acquires. Cuyahoga Land Bank received the Award of Merit for Neighborhood Impact from the Restoration Society for one of its more interesting renovation projects on South Boulevard in Cleveland’s Glenville neighborhood.  Read about it here.

Cleveland Housing Network (CHN) is a non-profit organization that develops and manages affordable housing options in Cleveland and Cuyahoga County. CHN collaborates with the Cuyahoga Land Bank by acquiring and rehabilitating properties from the Land Bank’s inventory, transforming them into quality, affordable housing for low-income individuals and families. The Land Bank has partnered with CHN on many impactful affordable housing projects over the years, including the demolition of a dilapidated YMCA building in Cleveland’s Old Brooklyn neighborhood to make way for a large-scale permanent supportive housing project. Read about it here.

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We’ve all driven through neighborhoods dotted with empty lots and crumbling buildings. Not only do these eyesores bring down property values, they also contribute to a sense of blight, lack of community pride and deteriorating morale. This is where land banks step in as a powerful tool for community revitalization.

What exactly is a land bank?

Land banks are public or non-profit organizations dedicated to acquiring vacant, abandoned, underutilized and tax-delinquent properties. Working as land stewards, land banks stabilize these properties and return them to productive use through in-house renovations, new home construction, sale to private owners, demolition, and preparation for short and long-range economic development. Land banks also foster creative re-use of properties for greenspace, gardening, stormwater management, and other innovative and ecological purposes.  

How do land banks benefit communities?

Land banks create different opportunities, including:

• Blight Reduction: Land banks acquire vacant properties, eliminating eyesores and safety hazards and improving a neighborhood’s overall aesthetic and security.
• Affordable Housing: Land banks renovate and build homes and partner with developers and non-profit organizations like Habitat for Humanity to create affordable housing options, increasing homeownership opportunities and fostering economic stability. Habitat’s recent five-home build on W. 128th offers a great example of new affordable housing and community-building in a once vacant space.
• Economic Development: Land banks can strategically sell or lease properties for commercial development, attracting businesses and creating jobs. Cuyahoga Land Bank’s work in East Cleveland on the iconic Mickey’s building illustrates this process. The once-abandoned building is not only being designed as the focal point of the new Circle East District, but the $3.5 million work on this commercial building will bring new jobs, life and tax dollars to the city.  
• Community Green Space: Land banks can work with community organizations to convert vacant lots into parks and green spaces, promoting recreation and improving residents’ quality of life. A prime example is the memorial pocket park in Cleveland’s Mt. Pleasant neighborhood. This former gas station site now serves the community as a beautiful and sustainable green space.

Step By Step: The process of land banking

1. Property Acquisition: Land banks acquire vacant, abandoned or foreclosed properties through various means, including tax delinquency auctions, donations or direct purchases. (See how the Cuyahoga Land Bank works with county agencies on strategic tax foreclosures below.)
2. Assessment: A land bank evaluates a property’s condition and potential, and then identifies potential land uses, including residential development, commercial space or green space.
3. The Demolition Decision: Depending on the property’s condition, the land bank may demolish a structure to prepare the land for its new purpose. When necessary, land banks demolish unsafe or unredeemable structures. See how Cuyahoga Land Bank decides to demo or not to demo here.
4. Renovation: Whether through in-house renovations, sales to responsible homeowners and rehabbers, or collaborations with a thriving network of Community Development Corporations (CDCs), hundreds of distressed properties in Cuyahoga County are renovated and restored to the tax rolls each year. See how a successful renovation can bring life back into a neighborhood here.
5. Development Potential: Larger abandoned properties can offer considerable opportunities for meaningful economic and community development projects. The Cuyahoga Land Bank works closely with local governments, business stakeholders and developers to assemble and return vacant, tax-delinquent properties into productive parcels. These collaborations fuel job retention and creation, attract and retain residents and businesses, and raise the region’s competitive position.

Land banks can break the cycle of blight and act as a catalyst for renewal in communities plagued by vacant and abandoned properties. Ultimately, land banks empower neighborhoods to reclaim their potential, transforming them from areas of decline into thriving spaces for residents and visitors alike.

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