Purpose
The Louisville Metro Development Authority sought to catalyze the redevelopment of the region’s distressed housing stock and break its blight cycle that claims entire neighborhoods and districts. The objective was to effectively utilize existing municipal resources and legal structures to curtail potential foreclosures and expand Louisville Metro Land Bank’s development efforts.
Community-centered approach
3×3 developed a new approach to return vacant properties to productive use, while increasing the provision of affordable housing in a shrinking Rustbelt City. Our team conducted a study to reexamine existing tax lien foreclosure legislation and the Land Bank’s authority to utilize eminent domain for expedited implementation of development efforts, resulting in minimal legislative changes. We created a solution that incentivizes private market participation through public-private partnerships to minimize taxpayers’ financial burden and create a self-generating revenue stream.
Impact
The work catalyzed redevelopment through a revenue-generating framework that takes the sale of high-value tax liens to finance a newly formed Local Housing Development Authority and Statutory Trust that can: 1) Utilize eminent domain to transfer titles; 2) Redevelop properties en masse; and 3) Leverage available public grants or financing options to develop affordable housing.
