Vacant Properties

Texas Suburb

Study: There's a Lot of Vacant Land in Texas Cities

All that empty acreage means that these big, rapidly developing cities don’t really have to sprawl.

June 11, 2018 - CommercialCafe

Detroit Vacant Properties

The Vacancy Epidemic

A new report uses terms like epidemic and hyper-vacancy to drive home the point about the effects of vacancies on communities like Cleveland, Gary, Toledo, and Detroit.

June 8, 2018 - Curbed

St. Louis, Missouri

First-Of-Its-Kind Artist Housing Project Moving Forward in St. Louis

An innovative project in St. Louis' will revitalize the underinvested Gravois Park neighborhood while delivering housing options to creative types.

May 31, 2018 - nextSTL

Englewood Southside Neighborhood

Chicago Puts Thousands of Vacant Lots on the Market for $1

Chicago continues to lose population from parts of the city, so vacant properties are multiplying. The city's "Large Lots" program aims to return vacant properties back to control by residents of the neighborhoods.

May 22, 2018 - Chicago Tribune

Community Land Trust Looking for a Foothold in Buffalo

A community land trust is making moves in the Fruit Belt neighborhood of Buffalo, New York.

May 11, 2018 - WIVB

Vacant Properties

St. Louis Groups Come Together to Form Neighborhood Vacancy Coalition

Legal and community groups in St. Louis align to curb ill-effects of the city's many vacant properties.

April 26, 2018 - KWMU

1,000 Parcels Available for Redevelopment in Highland Park, Michigan

Highland Park, Michigan, a former hub of the auto industry, is looking for a massive redevelopment plan to revitalize the city.

January 9, 2018 - The Detroit Free Press

D.C. Auditor Reveals Blight Enforcement Shortcomings

There's a surprising amount of vacancies and blight in the nation's capital, and District officials aren't doing everything in their power to address the challenge.

September 22, 2017 - The Washington Post

Vacant Home, Cleveland

Ohio Bans the Use of Plywood to Board Up Vacant Buildings

The state of Ohio is expanding a practice used by the Fannie Mae to counter the negative effects of vacancies and blight.

April 5, 2017 - Associated Press via Cincinnati.com

Population Decline in the Latest Census Estimates

Not only are suburbs growing, many of the larger, older cities that had reversed decades of population decline, are now losing population, again. The biggest losers: counties with the greatest population densities.

March 28, 2017 - Governing

Cook County Land Bank Expands Vacancy Program, Offers 4,400 Lots for Sale

The vacant lot program at the Cook County Land Bank Authority recently kicked into high gear—offering a huge number of vacant lots for sale, located around 27 neighborhoods and suburbs in the Chicago region.

February 20, 2017 - Crain's Chicago Business

Bank Owned

The External Costs of Vacant Homes

It might seem obvious that vacant homes attract crime and other noxious elements to surrounding properties, but researchers are still working to quantify those external costs.

January 19, 2017 - Next City

Transforming Vacant Properties Into Creative Hubs for Communities

The Renewal Project examines the work of the House Life Project in Indianapolis.

December 22, 2016 - The Renewal Project

Philadelphia

Philadelphia Goes High-Tech to Monitor Vacant Properties

The city of Philadelphia has deployed high-tech sensors and a new statistical model in its ongoing fight against the blight and health problems that follow vacant and abandoned properties.

December 18, 2016 - The Philadelphia Inquirer

Englewood Southside Neighborhood

More $1 Vacant Lots for Sale in Chicago

With some 20,000 vacant lots located around the city, Chicago is expanding the Large Lots Program that allows property owners to buy nearby lots for $1.

December 14, 2016 - Chicago Tribune

New Ohio Law Fast Tracks Foreclosures for Vacant Properties

The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland provides an early assessment of a new foreclosure law in Ohio designed to help reduce vacant and blighted properties in the state.

November 22, 2016 - The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland

D.C. Raises Taxes on Vacant and Blighted Properties

It got more expensive to neglect properties in Washington, D.C. this week.

November 6, 2016 - Washington City Paper

Baltimore

The Blight-Busting Tactic That Pays Huge Dividends for Real Estate Values

Neighborhoods achieve significantly more improvements by rehabilitating vacant rowhouses than by introducing new construction.

October 8, 2016 - Shelterforce Magazine

St. Louis Puts Renewed Effort Into Vacant Properties

St. Louis Public Radio explains the various efforts of the St. Louis Land Reutilization Authority.

June 19, 2016 - St. Louis Public Radio

Pilot Project Transforms Vacant Lots Into Bioretention Gardens

A pilot project combining the brain power and political will of the Detroit’s water department, Land Bank Authority, and the University of Michigan recently completed the first of four vacant lots into beautiful and functional bioretention gardens.

June 12, 2016 - The Detroit News

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