Land Banking

[Michele J]

I never understand why they insist on building suburban-style housing near downtown in areas with no other economic activity... instead of building townhouses in an area that already has potential from existing businesses and homes.

(and yes I realize "suburban-style" is one of the most overused phrases of 2007)

Its a mystery to me also..Destined to fail.

[therising]

Land Banking would not cost extra money. It would merely focus the money we already spend... instead of scattershot bulldozing and misplaced redevelopment.

How much would you pay to relocate the people who are still there?
Market value would be, what? $10,000 / $15,000 / $5,000 ?

Where the heck are they gonna go for that money?

[300miles]

Well technically they could buy a house a few blocks away for almost the same amount.

[WNYresident]

We have been replacing jobs with jobs of lower earning potential and really not having any real job growth.

We have also been also losing population.

By building more new housing all we are doing is moving people from one area of EC to another so what is the point? It's not like we are building homes being filled BY MORE people coming to the EC community. You build apartments in the city your just pulling people away from another part of Erie County. We are not growing so we are just building and vacating older housing stock... Isn't that what is basically happening? Shuffling people around at a extremely high cost because of overly generous government labor contracts?

We lose population in one town but really can't shed the burden of the labor contracts when there are less people to service.

[Michele J]

How much would you pay to relocate the people who are still there?
Market value would be, what? $10,000 / $15,000 / $5,000 ?

Where the heck are they gonna go for that money?

If there are 1 or 2 homeowners left on a devastated street( this is the case on about 30-40 streets I can think of off the top of my head) and their house is assessed at 20k( We all know we are over assessed to begin with) give them 40k to move... in the long run it will save us triple that in police calls,street plowing,vacant house & lot maintenance,arsons etc..
And offer them a free house or VERY cheap one on a street in the area that is still relatively stable with perhaps only a few vacancies..You will be helping to keep that street intact with a new homeowner.

[bornandraised]

[QUOTE=Michele J]If there are 1 or 2 homeowners left on a devastated street( this is the case on about 30-40 streets I can think of off the top of my head) and their house is assessed at 20k( We all know we are over assessed to begin with) give them 40k to move... in the long run it will save us triple that in police calls,street plowing,vacant house & lot maintenance,arsons etc..
And offer them a free house or VERY cheap one on a street in the area that is still relatively stable with perhaps only a few vacancies..You will be helping to keep that street intact with a new homeowner.[/QUOTE]
This is a great idea. It would help stabilize the the neighborhoods with only a few vacancies that they would move into. I would think most of these houses, where there are only 1-2 houses on a street left, are people who are renting from a landlord? I would think the landlord would be happy to sell the house for assessed value and get out of that area.

[Michele J]

Thank you..I have researched landbanking for a few years and looked at what has worked in other cities.

[leftWNYbecauseofBS]

If there are 1 or 2 homeowners left on a devastated street( this is the case on about 30-40 streets I can think of off the top of my head) and their house is assessed at 20k( We all know we are over assessed to begin with) give them 40k to move... in the long run it will save us triple that in police calls,street plowing,vacant house & lot maintenance,arsons etc..
And offer them a free house or VERY cheap one on a street in the area that is still relatively stable with perhaps only a few vacancies..You will be helping to keep that street intact with a new homeowner.

Does anyone know the cost of moving houses?


There are some homes that if moved, would really put together a nice street. There are other homes that simply are too small to be worth the move.

For example, in the fruit belt, I saw a slideshow on Fix Buffalo that profiled 10 or so homes that have awesome interior and exterior features.

What if the 15 blocks of the fruit belt were all purchased by the city. Utilities were taken down and streets close to expedite the process and homes were spaced out on streets to provide for larger lots. New basements with 12 ft ceilings were put in and lots held a 2 car garage. If done in a major one time project, could a contractor be found to do each home for 20k. After all, the cost of taking them down would be around this.

The fruit belt is my favorite neighborhood as it is separated from the vast east side by the 33, was originally one of the wealthy areas of the city when these homes were built and in the back yard of the medical campus.

I wonder if a big project like that could work.

[Michele J]

If they have no basements it wont work.

[leftWNYbecauseofBS]

If they have no basements it wont work.

???

I was watching a show on one of the Home Improvement channels where in Chicago, they moved a 3 story brick townhome from a bad part of town to a good one. They built the new foundation with a basement and cut a hole in the floor for access. Not sure why it could not be done on a home in B-lo.

I have commented a couple of times on Fix Buffalo that it is not a wise investment to sink money into a rehab when you can not make money or retain the value of your investment.

I think land banking could help this. I do not see a fix for the crime and poverty in the East Side in the future. It is just too much and too big.

I think the city should simply reclaim land closest to the city core and at first create a buffer. Then allow developers to take a section of 4-5 city blocks and build a gated community with a 10ft berm on the perimeter and limit the access to just a couple of points with secure gates.

Not trying to be a jerk but the problem is the people. Until the problem is gone, you are never going to be able to turn the corner. Isolation is the best way to create density IMO.

[Shovel ready]

Hmm...I really like the idea of moving the nicer leftover houses to better blocks. Spacing the houses out on 30-50 ft. wide lots would add needed space and desirability.

[keyboard150]

Okay, but moving houses is going to cost you significantly more than tearing them down.

It's a simple case of supply and demand, really. Right now, there is a low demand for housing, and a huge supply.

Housing values are low.
Economy is low.
Crime is high.
Abandoned houses breed crime.

Get rid of them, and you'll see the supply/demand begin to stabilize the way you want it.
Crime will naturally reduce because there will be fewer places for it to hide.
Quickly?
No. But it will just because an element has been taken away.

Housing values will go up.
Maybe even the economy would slightly improve because of it, who knows?

But if we go and start moving houses around, we're just moving the problem around. Just like building a new house in the city----someone has to abandon a house to move into the new one.

I like the gated community idea, and it's actually one I had about a few blocks into the fruit belt, where the medical campus is growing. Just finding a group of investors is proving difficult.

[Linda_D]

Okay, but moving houses is going to cost you significantly more than tearing them down.

It's a simple case of supply and demand, really. Right now, there is a low demand for housing, and a huge supply.

Housing values are low.
Economy is low.
Crime is high.
Abandoned houses breed crime.

Get rid of them, and you'll see the supply/demand begin to stabilize the way you want it.
Crime will naturally reduce because there will be fewer places for it to hide.
Quickly?
No. But it will just because an element has been taken away.

Housing values will go up.
Maybe even the economy would slightly improve because of it, who knows?

But if we go and start moving houses around, we're just moving the problem around. Just like building a new house in the city----someone has to abandon a house to move into the new one.

I like the gated community idea, and it's actually one I had about a few blocks into the fruit belt, where the medical campus is growing. Just finding a group of investors is proving difficult.

I agree. As Michele has noted numerous times, most houses on the East Side, especially those in the devastated neighborhoods, weren't well built to begin with, so they really don't have much value. Certainly not enough to justify moving them.

Trying to save the worst streets or doing piecemeal rehabs or new-builds just doesn't work. We've seen that. It's time to clear out the worst streets, land bank these areas, and then concentrate code enforcement and rehabs in neighborhoods that are salvagable.

[keyboard150]

Most the housing on the east side are Polish cottages that were put up quickly to house the factory workers...immigrants, etc.

They were not meant to last as long as they have....and they shouldn't last any longer if they are abandoned. They are just not worth saving.

[Michele J]

Leaving even the nicest house sitting vacant & unheated takes its toll on the structure, Not to mention leaving the water on during the winter without properly winterizing the pipes.