Community Land Trusts

Implementation in North St. Louis in Implementation in North St. Louis in collaboration with Old North St. Louis collaboration with Old North St. Louis

Restoration GroupRestoration Group

Challenges of inner city neighborhoods for CDCs

Role of representing the community in terms of development

Which members to represent

Economic growth often shuts out certain people (gentrification)

Which neighborhoods

Lasalle Park - sponsored by philanthropic corporation

Murphy/Cass - Tenant Management Associations

Wash U and SLU development around medical schools - large institutional sponsor

Forest Park Southeast/Tower Grove- development companies associate w/non-profits

Perspectives on development New “model town” view

Control by outsiders

Diversity discouraged

Housing must be beautiful and expensive to ensure “luxury” prices

Upper middle class working people only

Ex. Pullman Company Towns

“Urban Village” view

Control by insiders

Diversity embraced

Housing may or may not be beautiful but it is affordable

Interest in community programs and services

Mixed income residents

Ex. Dudley Neighborhood in Boston

Encouraging “Urban Village” development

Important to ensure affordable housing in neighborhood and ensure diverse community involvement:

Tax credits (subsidized housing)/Mixed Income Housing

Hope VI

Public Housing

Co-ops

Community Land Trusts

Why community land trusts? Increase supply of

permanently affordable housing

Increase real estate equity savings among residents

Encourage developers to participate in affordable housing

Why community land trusts?

Returns abandoned real estate and vacant land to tax rolls

Enhances and collaborates community development programs

Facilitates partnerships between residents, businesses, non-profits and area developers

Why community land trusts?

A win-win situation for all stakeholders

Creates incentive for people to stay in community, not flip or leave them behind

Sense of belonging

Political force

Camden, NJ

Started through affordable housing activists during a power fight with the City

Used co-op method in order to retain long-term control of land by co-op

Bought property where knew speculators would try to buy

Ensured less looting of construction sites by hiring local workforce

Boston, MA - Dudley

Gained large amount of properties through eminent domain along with City granting properties to CLT

Used Community Land Trust as their mechanism

150 homes in CLT

Holyoke, MA

CDC formed b/c city plan to industrialize residential area to protect residents against absentee landlords

Represents a “resettlement” model of a CLT, rather than a “displacement” model

Community Steps toward a CLT

Community survey on land control

Community meetings explaining CLT concept

Form working groups

Elect members to committees

Committee elects board

Community Steps toward a CLT

Alternative would be to just create an advisory board within ONSL

ONSL board, seeing that there is obvious community interest, will meet to determine whether ONSL will split organization or carry a 2nd 501(c)(3)

Land trust agreement discussed by board meetings and signed

Community Steps toward a CLT

Board meeting discussion of articles of non profit incorporation and eventual filing with state

Raise money and acquire property

Work for “perpetually affordable housing programs on a state level”

Legal steps toward a CLT

ONSL board, seeing that there is obvious community interest, will meet to determine whether ONSL will split organization or carry a 2nd 501(c)(3)

501 (c)(3) set up using community input

Land trust agreement discussed by board meetings and signed

Determine how property will be provided to residents

Determine particulars of ground lease including how resale price agreements would work