Syracuse is in line for more money for its land bank. The state announced a second round of awards Wednesday to help communities restore abandoned and dangerous properties.
Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced that another $20 million is going out to land banks across the state, while at a house on Syracuse’s Southside. The home was renovated, and has been sold to a first time home buyer.
Katelyn Wright, executive director of the Greater Syracuse Land Bank says the city is in line for $2 million from this round of awards.
She says much of this funding will get at a major problem that cities with old housing stock like Syracuse have -- houses that just need to be torn down.
“We estimate that 20 percent of the structures that we acquire are too far gone to renovate," Wright said. "That’s going to require demolition or deconstruction. Over the last year we’ve experimented with deconstruction with some county funds, and we’ve learned how to be greener in how we do that. And this money will allow us to address a much larger number of properties next year using those methods.”
Wright says the funding will also deal with vacant lots, another byproduct of the land bank.
“We find when we are taking these houses down, we find we are left with a lot that’s too small to be legally built on, and the next door neighbor would like to acquire it," Wright explained. "There are costs to that transaction, and we’d like to provide some funding to make improvements to the property and expand the yard, do some fencing, something like that, that’s going to visually improve the neighborhood.”
The Syracuse Area Land Bank is currently renovating 50 homes that used to be eyesores in their neighborhoods.
Wright says the second round of money will ultimately help deal with about 60 more dilapidated properties.
“We think probably about 40 demolition, deconstruction projects, and a dozen renovations are likely, we’re still working out the exact numbers," Wright said. "And then a handful of properties that will be green space development.”
The state funding for this new round will be drawn from the $25 billion settlement with the nation's banks, negotiated in the aftermath of the housing crisis in 2008.
