The Land Bank was created with the best of intentions and input from numerous stakeholder groups. The exhaustive process to formulate, structure and implement the Land Bank took years, and it was finally brought into being in early 2017. Now more than a year into the process, I wonder just how effective the Land Bank has been, can be or ever will be. The website states – “We’re ready to work with residents, community groups, nonprofit groups and for-profit businesses – and you!” Are they succeeding?
I’ll be digging into the notes from meetings to see if we can shine a light on progress, successes, and hurdles. Follow us here or on Abandoned Philadelphia’s Facebook page. Please post your comments, stories of vacant and blighted properties and addresses that are dragging down your neighborhood.

For a refresher, I’ve copied content from the Land Bank’s website below:

The Philadelphia City Council approved the Philadelphia Land Bank’s 2017 Strategic Plan on March 9, 2017. With the approval the Land Bank’s revised acquisition and disposition policies will take effect.

The Strategic Plan analyzes market conditions and resident needs and identifies opportunities where publicly owned land can support housing, green space and other reuses.

For many years the process of returning land in public ownership to private reuse was a complicated one. Potential buyers had to do their own property research, and might even have had to reach out to three different agencies to inquire about three parcels that were next to each other.

But today Philadelphia has a different approach to combating blight by reactivating publicly owned properties – the Philadelphia Land Bank.

The Philadelphia Land Bank is a powerful tool to return vacant and tax-delinquent properties to productive use. It will simplify the process of transferring properties from public agencies to private owners. It can also acquire privately owned vacant parcels that are roadblocks to revitalization. The Land Bank’s ability to clear liens from titles will make properties more attractive to potential new owners.

The Land Bank is ready to work with residents, community groups, nonprofit groups and for-profit businesses to rid Philadelphia’s neighborhoods of blight and vacancy. You can start by looking for properties on our Real Estate for Sale map.