[CPEO-BIF] National Vacant Properties Campaign

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

National Vacant Properties Campaign 
News Release
June 15, 2005


First of its kind program to help cities reclaim abandoned properties,
reverse blight

National Vacant Properties Campaign will give extra boost to seven
cities already working to help themselves


WASHINGTON D.C., June 15, 2005 - In the first such systematic,
multi-city effort, a consortium of national organizations will provide
expert assistance to seven cities working to reclaim vacant and
abandoned properties and restore vitality and livability to city neighborhoods.

With funding from the Surdna Foundation, the National Vacant Properties
Campaign will bring national experts to help local officials,
nonprofits, and residents adopt cutting-edge strategies for reclaiming
their streets and neighborhoods. The cities are Baltimore, Md.,
Bridgeport, Conn., Buffalo, N.Y., Indianapolis, Ind., Richmond, Va,
Spartanburg, S.C., and Tucson, Ariz. The Campaign is a collaboration of
four leading national organizations, Smart Growth America (SGA), Local
Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), the International City/County
Management Association (ICMA), and the Metropolitan Institute at
Virginia Tech (MI).

"Up to now, cities have struggled in relative isolation to solve their
abandonment problems," said Don Chen, SGA's executive director. "But now
they have a community of experts and practitioners to tap into. The
Campaign received proposals from over 50 communities seeking assistance,
indicating widespread need for the improved strategies and exchange of
expertise the Campaign fosters."

The assistance program comes at a time when many cities are recognizing
abandoned properties as a formidable obstacle to stabilizing
neighborhoods and stimulating their renewal. "While portions of
America's older cities are seeing a resurgence of investment and a
renewed interest in urban living, many continue to be held back by
blighted and abandoned properties," said Jennifer Leonard, director of
the Campaign. 

"Abandoned buildings and vacant lots depress property values, reduce tax
revenues, and discourage development, while at the same time acting as
fire hazards and magnets for crime," added Robert O'Neill, executive
director of ICMA. The National Fire Protection Association says that
6,000 firefighters are injured each year in vacant or abandoned building
fires, and in some jurisdictions more than 70 percent of fires originate
in abandoned buildings. Crime rates on blocks with open abandoned
buildings were twice as high as rates on matched blocks without open buildings.

At the same time, these areas represent opportunity. Vacant and
abandoned properties occupy about 15 percent of the area of the typical
large city, more than 12,000 acres on average. This is usable land
already connected to urban infrastructure. For metropolitan areas
looking to accommodate growth without consuming the surrounding
countryside, these properties amount to a large reservoir of land for
well-planned development.

In Baltimore, for example, where the city recently has taken action to
acquire 5,000 of its vacant properties, the Campaign's consultation will
help the city develop stronger systems to manage its inventory of
properties, prepare them for redevelopment and track progress. In
Richmond, the assistance will support the city's efforts to promote
reuse of abandoned properties, while also establishing a preventive
program. The assistance will build on successful programs like
Neighborhoods in Bloom, which has already returned 200 vacant properties
to productive use. (A summary of each city's program will be posted at
www.vacantproperties.org.) 

The value of the technical assistance ranges from $15,000 to $70,000 per
city, and could include roundtable discussions with national experts,
consultations by public officials from cities leading effective local
programs, and implementation of specific strategies.

"While nonprofit community organizations have made great strides in
redeveloping vacant properties, they can achieve far greater impact as
part of a city's systematic effort to overcome the legal and economic
barriers to reclamation," said Michael Rubinger, LISC's president and
CEO. "The campaign is designed to help cities create those systematic approaches."

A wide variety of cities and towns responded to the Campaign's call for
assistance. The majority of applicants were from medium sized
communities in the North and the Midwest, with populations of 75,000 and
above. But even communities in fast growing regions, such as Tucson
Arizona, sought help. "A critical element in our assistance is to
identify model programs and practices that are relevant for the scope
and nature of a community's vacant property problems," said Joseph
Schilling, Professor in Practice with the Metropolitan Institute at
Virginia Tech. "Part of our mission is to plant the seeds of
revitalization through sharing innovative ideas from around the
country." 

About the National Vacant Properties Campaign

The National Vacant Properties Campaign was launched by Smart Growth
America, LISC, and ICMA in 2003 to advocate for property reclamation and
offer technical assistance to communities. It is designed to help local
governments and nonprofits throughout the country develop effective
solutions to the pervasive problem of property abandonment ? from
producing cutting-edge research, identifying and disseminating policy
innovations and best practices, and presenting model legislation. In
addition to the pilot T.A. Program, the Campaign also offers
fee-for-service technical assistance for local governments, nonprofit
organizations, and communities. Funders of the Campaign include the
Fannie Mae Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the C.S. Mott Foundation,
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the Surdna Foundation. For
more information about the Campaign. 

About Smart Growth America

Smart Growth America (SGA) is a coalition of national, state, and local
organizations working to improve the ways we plan and build the towns,
cities and metro areas we call home. The coalition includes many of the
best-known national organizations advocating on behalf of historic
preservation, the environment, farmland and open space preservation,
neighborhood revitalization and more. Our state- and regional-level
members are community-based organizations working to save treasured
landscapes while making our towns and cities ever more livable and
lovable. For more information, visit http://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/.

About Local Initiatives Support Corporation

Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) helps people build better
lives and brighter futures by transforming distressed communities and
neighborhoods into healthy ones. Through mobilization of corporate,
government, and philanthropic support, helps provide community
development corporations (CDCs) the technical expertise, training, and
policy support they need to create affordable housing, commercial and
retail property, community facilities, businesses, and jobs in their
communities. For more information, visit http://www.lisc.org/. 

About ICMA

The International City/County Management Association (ICMA) promotes
excellence in local government through professional management. Toward
this end, ICMA provides technical and management assistance, training
and professional development, online services, and publications to
nearly 7,600 appointed local government managers and administrators in
cities, towns, counties, and other entities throughout the world. 

About the Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech

The Metropolitan Institute (MI) conducts applied research and provides
strategic policy guidance on the key forces shaping metropolitan growth
such as demographics, environment, technology, design, transportation,
and governance. Through its Green Region's Initiative, MI will
investigate innovative approaches to creating environmental sustainable
regions through the revitalization and reclamation of vacant properties.
For more information visit www.mi.vt.edu.

For the original press release and links, go to
http://www.vacantproperties.org/press061505.html

-- 


Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org
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