
Full Answer
How does the Philadelphia Land Bank work?
The Philadelphia Land Bank is a public agency with the mission of reactivating vacant land. It has the legal authority to acquire vacant and tax-delinquent properties to repurpose them. The Land Bank develops land disposition policies that it and other City land-holding agencies follow.
What is a land bank?
Land banks are public or private organizations that purchase, hold, redevelop, or otherwise manage foreclosed or abandoned properties with the goal of achieving community objectives such as affordable housing construction or public park space. zimmytws / Foreclosed home.
What is the Land Bank’s strategic plan?
The Philadelphia Land Bank has developed a Strategic Plan– informed by data, stakeholder concerns, citywide and neighborhood plans, and public comment – that lays out a vision in which vacant properties become tools for neighborhood revitalization. That Strategic Plan guides the future use of properties managed by PHDC.

How does Philadelphia land bank work?
The Philadelphia Land Bank is a public agency with the mission of reactivating vacant land. It has the legal authority to acquire vacant and tax-delinquent properties to repurpose them. The Land Bank develops land disposition policies that it and other City land-holding agencies follow.
Does Philadelphia have a land bank?
Returning vacant and tax-delinquent properties to productive use. You can find more information on Philadelphia Land Bank on their website. We're always working to improve phila.gov.
What is the purpose of a land bank?
Land banks are public authorities or non-profit organizations created to acquire, hold, manage, and sometimes redevelop property in order to return these properties to productive use to meet community goals, such as increasing affordable housing or stabilizing property values.
When was the Philadelphia Land Bank created?
2013And it was a longtime coming: the Land Bank was created in 2013 as a way to streamline the sales of vacant, tax-delinquent city properties to private developers, according to the Philly Voice.
Who owns the land in Philadelphia?
In most of Philadelphia, the city itself owns the land underneath the streets, including most (but not all) of the state highways. On your average 50-foot-wide city street, you'll have a 12-foot sidewalk, a 26-foot cartway, and another 12-foot sidewalk.
How do I buy an empty lot in Philadelphia?
The Philadelphia Land Bank Through the Land Bank's open space program, they can provide legal access or ownership of vacant lots to community gardens and other community-managed open space. This can be done through a sale, in which ownership of the land is transferred for a nominal price, or through a lease agreement.
Are land banks good?
Overall, there is evidence that land banking helps to reduce blight by demolishing deteriorated or unsafe structures, eliminate property vacancies, and maintain vacant lots.
Who owns the LANDBANK?
Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP; often referred to simply as LandBank), is a government-owned bank in the Philippines with a special focus on serving the needs of farmers and fishermen.
How do land banks make money?
They're buying a property at today's low prices (before anybody else perceives the value) and waiting until the city grows to them. When this happens, the land prices spike in value and they're able to cash in on their land investment.
Why are there so many vacant lots in Philadelphia?
The city has for decades struggled to manage and offload a catalog of about 6,000 vacant properties it accumulated as property owners abandoned lots or lost them over unpaid taxes or other liens. Land was split between different landholding agencies and firewalled behind an opaque and convoluted sale process.
Do Philadelphia still have dollar houses?
And the city no longer sells houses for $1.
How do you sell land?
Sale to sold: How to sell your vacant land propertyTip 1: Get a sense of your vacant land. ... Tip 2: Understand zoning laws and regulations. ... Tip 3: Stage your vacant land, up its appeal. ... Tip 4: Improve access to your vacant land. ... Tip 5: Price your vacant land correctly. ... Tip 6: Market your vacant land like a pro.More items...
What is the benefits of land banking?
At LANDBANK, you may invest in GS for a minimum amount of P200,000. LANDBANK provides a secondary market for all the securities we sell either thru Bloomberg or via market makers. LANDBANK's huge GS inventory of various tenors and interest payment structures addresses your particular investment requirements.
What states have a LANDBANK?
As of March 2022, 25 states have land banks and 17 states have comprehensive legislation that support land banks: Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia16.
How does Michigan LANDBANK work?
The State Land Bank works to create positive economic impact on Michigan communities by recycling land to productive use. We work with communities - of all sizes - to make their property goals a reality.
Does Maryland have a LANDBANK?
Seventeen (17) states (New York, Michigan, Ohio, Georgia, Nebraska, Missouri, Tennessee, Alabama, Delaware, Virginia, West Virginia, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Maryland) have passed land bank enabling legislation (as of March 2022), offering local leaders a new tool to help reinvent ...
What is the Philadelphia Land Bank?
The Land Bank, which is to be fully operational by the end of this year, is intended to streamline and consolidate the process by which the City acquires and sells vacant and tax delinquent properties. The Land Bank will also act as the single repository for the approximately 9,500 vacant and surplus properties currently owned by the City through three separate entities: the City, the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority and the Philadelphia Housing Development Corporation .
How does the Land Bank acquire property?
The Land Bank can acquire property by donation, gift, purchase or any other legal means, including by tax sale.
How long does it take to get notice of a land bank sale?
Properties to be sold by the Land Bank will be posted, and public notice given, at least 10 days before the sale, and RCOs whose registered geographic area of concern contains the property will also receive notice.
What can a land bank request?
The Land Bank can request that the City certify, for upset or judicial sale, a property that is both vacant and delinquent as to municipal taxes. Individuals or organizations can make applications to the Land Bank requesting that the Land Bank seek such a certification from the City for a property.
How many members are on the Land Bank Board?
The Land Bank Board is comprised of eleven members of varying professional backgrounds, five of whom are appointed by the Mayor, five by majority vote of City Council and one by majority vote of those ten members.
What conditions can a land bank attach to a sale of a property?
The Land Bank may attach conditions to the sale of a property, such as by deed restriction, restrictive covenant or mortgage.
Why should the Land Bank be centralized?
The centralizing of properties under the roof of a single entity should make it easier for buyers to purchase land for single lot development and to assemble multiple tracts for larger projects. While the Land Bank should simplify what was a complicated and confusing process, there will still be a process.
What is Philadelphia Land Bank?
The Philadelphia Land Bank is a public agency with the mission of reactivating vacant land. It has the legal authority to acquire vacant and tax-delinquent properties to repurpose them. The Land Bank develops land disposition policies that it and other City land-holding agencies follow.
What is PHDC in Philadelphia?
PHDC oversees the management of much of the vacant land in the public inventory. Working through the Land Bank it manages the strategic acquisition of privately owned, tax-delinquent vacant properties. Its acquisition and disposition strategies seek to advance City goals and strengthen Philadelphia’s neighborhoods. Read the FAQs.
Why is land bank important?
A land bank, theoretically, speeds up that process, in effect making neighborhood improvements easier and faster.
How does a land bank work?
According to Pennsylvania’s law, any county , city, borough, township, or town with a population of 10,000 people or more can create and maintain a public agency known as a land bank. The law also allows for the creation of land banks by two or more of these units with populations that fall below 10,000.
What can land banks receive?
Land banks can receive grants and loans from the federal government, the Commonwealth, a municipality, the jurisdiction that created the land bank or private sources. Proceeds from property sales, investments, and the issuance of bonds can also contribute to a land bank’s operating budget. And Pennsylvania law permits land banks to charge for services rendered and to retain for up to five years up to 50-percent of taxes paid on properties it conveys back into productive use.
What is a land bank in Philadelphia?
Philadelphia’s land bank was created in 2013 in order to help repurpose vacant buildings and land for community needs . The land bank’s 2017 strategic plan emphasizes returning vacant and underutilized publicly-owned property to productive use, supporting both affordable and mixed-income housing. This strategy seeks to address the fact that some neighborhoods in Philadelphia are rapidly gentrifying while others have sustained population loss and housing vacancies. The land bank set a goal of dedicating 63% of the buildings it acquires to housing and mixed-use development, only 25% of which would be for non-income restricted development. As of 2019, the land bank reported holding 2,200 vacant properties.
What is a land bank?
Land banks are public authorities or non-profit organizations created to acquire, hold, manage, and sometimes redevelop property in order to return these properties to productive use to meet community goals, such as increasing affordable housing or stabilizing property values. Land banks can play a number of different roles depending on ...
How do land banks acquire properties?
Property acquisition. One of the most common ways land banks acquire properties is through the tax foreclosure and auction process. The process differs in each state, but generally if a property owner fails to pay property taxes, the property may end up in the hands of the jurisdiction to which the taxes are owed.
How do land banks help?
In some jurisdictions, land banks help facilitate affordable housing development by temporarily holding properties while the original owners assemble financing and wait for the market to be ready for new development. Having the property held by the land bank can reduce or eliminate municipal taxes during the holding period. The land bank can also assume responsibility for property maintenance. In localities with cumbersome land management practices, land banks can provide more flexible management that may allow for interim uses or partnerships for community-stewardship.
Why do cities use land banks?
Cities, towns or counties with stronger housing markets can use land banks as a mechanism for purchasing and holding land for future use. For example, a community can purchase land in gentrifying neighborhoods to hold for future affordable housing development. Such land bank acquisitions can help ensure the availability ...
Why are land banks important?
Land banks can be an effective mechanism to help achieve community development goals in a range of different housing market types. Regardless of the type of housing market, land banks can generally be used to: Hold and maintain properties until a strategy for disposition is determined.
What is the Little Rock Land Bank?
The Little Rock Land Bank Commission (LBC) consists of 9 qualified individuals appointed by the Mayor, as established by City by-laws. The LBC established a number of policies related to property acquisition, disposition, land transfer, and land donation. Being a low-cost city with areas of vacancy, the Little Rock LBC focuses its resources on neighborhoods that show signs of decline (high vacancy, low owner-occupancy, high poverty rate) and offers parcels it acquires based on priority uses such as developing affordable housing, supporting homeownership, and establishing social service providers. As of May 2020, the LBC listed 80 properties on its inventory, the majority of which were vacant lots.
