LANSING, Mich. — In 2005, the Ingham County Land Bank was only the second county land bank established in Michigan—now more than half of Michigan counties have a land bank. 15 years later, Land Bank leaders and partners are celebrating the many accomplishments achieved throughout Ingham County over the years.
“The number of properties, projects and people that have been ‘touched’ and transformed into viable outcomes and striking successes is a testament to the concentrated efforts of the Land Bank and the partners we work with,” said Ingham County Land Bank Executive Director Roxanne Case.
Those numbers speak volumes: Since its inception, the Land Bank has invested $58,000,000 through federal, state and local funds in the local community. Additionally, it has:
- Renovated 255 single-family homes
- Completed nearly 800 demolitions
- Constructed 42 new single-family homes
- Established nearly 200 garden parcels
- Sold over 20 commercial properties for redevelopment
- Sold over 500 vacant lots
- Created a pipeline of over 200 properties sold to nonprofits and investors for development and/or renovation
The lessons and skills the Land Bank has learned over the past 15 years drives its capacity and vision for the future.
“The Land Bank’s emerging vision is to leverage the assembled land to drive development of missing middle residential projects,” said Ingham County Land Bank Chair and Ingham County Treasurer Eric Schertzing. “We have the ability to drive an ownership model—which can address wealth disparities in the community—to complement the development of rental housing in Lansing. We must build on this vision to deliver results in this and other opportunity areas.”
To commemorate the occasion, the Land Bank has published a 15-year impact report detailing the scope and scale of its many projects, programs and partnerships. The report is available for digital download at inghamlandbank.org/impact [inghamlandbank.org]. An in-person celebration is pending due to the pandemic, anticipated for some time in 2021.
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