My initial concept came at the height of the Great Recession in reaction to the land banking
concept that Mayor Dixon floated then and included a big investment program requiring big federal stimulus dollars. That portion is certainly not realistic right now.
I suggested then to distinguish between those areas that need large scale intervention (government) and those that can have a triage approach (market). This distinction is still needed.
From my White Paper titled “Baltimore Recovery” and circulated in June 2009
Whereas,
o Baltimore City owns a stock of about 10,000 vacant rowhouses
o Scattered vacant rowhouses drag down whole neighborhoods
o Concentrated vacant rowhouses create murderous environments where community structure and services fall apart
o Rowhouses are an efficient and still contemporary way of living
o The region will grow by 1 million people over the next 25 years
o Sprawl is bad for the environment and our fiscal health
o Baltimore has had great difficulties in assembling and disposing of properties and Land bank legislation has been submitted to address the problem of assembly and disposition
o Baltimore has great difficulties in actually rehabilitating and occupying significant numbers of disposition houses due to the specific difficulties of inner city rowhouse rehabilitation
May it be resolved that:
o The issue of actual disposition and rehabilitation be addressed in tandem such that the land bank approach is expanded as follows:
o A citywide rowhouse recovery agency will be created as a non-governmental non-profit with specific powers conveyed by government
o Money from the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will be used to fund softcost and hardcost for rehabilitation of a large number of homes in a comprehensive manner
o Labor from the unemployed neighborhood workforce and from citywide underemployed construction specialists will be utilized
o 6,000 houses will be rehabilitated over a period of three years with after which time it is assumed that the market will work again and take over the remaining vacants
o Houses will be marketed to a mix of incomes and target groups from low income tenants in existing neighborhoods to new urban dwellers
What happens after the City divests itself of the Vacants?
From what I see about “Vacants to Values”, the focus is still on disposition and not so much on what happens afterwards.
Therefore, my second proposal component deals with the issues AFTER a streamlined disposition and building capacity in our city to deal with the vacants, namely addressing the fact, that so many developers and contractors are so completely naïve about rowhouse rehab and that so many start but can’t complete and that the ruins of these failed starts are as bad or worse than the original vacants.
What I have in mind are developer and contractor training programs and more systematic screening before awarding properties, also effective monitoring of ongoing work. HABC could become a true market place where homeowners of vacant, developers and contractors can be matched up and receive information and training not only about acquiring properties but about the whole team approach and package that it takes to get the deal done. At this point many players on each side enter this world blindly, and have great difficulty finding partners, understanding the rules, the funding options, the possible funding support programs and how to leverage their respective assets optimally. During construction many small investors uninitiated to inner city Baltimore neighborhoods, Baltimore zoning and codes are surprised about fire codes, developer agreements and permit requirements, many items adding just enough cost to sink their projects. All these issues could be addressed in comprehensive training and in best practice manuals prepared and assembled by Baltimore Housing.
Capacity Building in the CommunitiesA third component deals with capacity building in the community, namely the local CDCs. I imagine a CDC organizational model with a citywide CDC “headquarter”and local CDCs in the neighborhoods. They would receive technical assistance and oversight from headquarters. This would avoid a lot of duplication and false starts. The CDC situation is not unlike the ones with the contractors and developers, a lot of false starts.
A combination of CDC’s and well trained for profit and nonprofit developers/contractors covering the entire city would provide the “infrastructure for the vacant to be dealt with after disposition.
If Baltimore would try to get 10% of the regional growth, we would grow to about 750,000 people. The solution to the vacant houses is key to attracting people. Once we attract them, these additional residents would help to solve many problems, including the tax conundrum, safety, schools and many more.
It is great to see that you are tackling this sticky issue with renewed resolve and enthusiasm.
Principles from the 2009 Recovery Paper:
o A mix of affordable and market rate units will be created
o Focus on areas where a market can be created (i.e. the healthy neighborhood triage approach, not the approach of starting in the very worst area first)
o Construction: The standard bidding process to private contractors and developers will be temporarily supplanted with a comprehensive job creation program for design and construction as well as homeownership training.
o Experienced entities and organizations such as Enterprise, Jubilee, St Ambrose etc. would have a mentoring role in the endeavor
o The program will serve as national model of urban recovery and use of best management practices in the areas of preservation, green construction and social justice
