DETROIT, Mich. — Mayor Mary Sheffield on Monday, Nov. 9, ordered the city to drop its holds on 7,500 Detroit Land Bank Authority properties, putting them up for sale as part of a package of changes aimed at buyers who have long complained the agency is hard to deal with.
Sheffield and land bank Director Tammy Daniels unveiled the plan outside a renovated house at 2626 Webb St. in the Dexter-Linwood area. The released parcels give residents in every council district a shot at buying side lots and homes, the mayor said.
The plan includes $1.5 million in grants to help buyers finish repairs and bring homes up to code, plus another $1.5 million to help people living in land bank houses complete the Occupied Buy Back program. A new online map will show all 56,000 land bank parcels, including which are held and why.
The agency will open a field office at Butzel Family Recreation Center and set a 72-hour turnaround for customer service requests. Groups seeking lots for gardens or green space will be able to apply on the website rather than in person, and the nuisance abatement program will act only on referrals from residents, community groups, city departments and the council.
The land bank and the Housing Commission will also put $6 million into 75 temporary housing units for people who need transitional or permanent homes. Sheffield said the agency has already helped sell and rehab 15,000 vacant houses and more than 35,000 side lots, and she cast the changes as part of her Rise Higher transition effort.
