Blight to Bright: New Program Will Revitalize Philly Neighborhoods

Squatters, drug deals, desolation, and decay – nothing good’s happening inside five Victorian rowhouses, and the outsides aren’t looking so hot, either. Just over a mile from downtown, the aging homes are emblematic of Philadelphia’s real estate woes – according to a recent New York Times piece, some forty thousand lots and buildings are either abandoned, falling apart, or underutilized. It’s a familiar story in post-recession America: in troubled neighborhoods, blight grows like a weed through a sidewalk crack, and areas once considered “nice” deteriorate.

It’s this destructive process that city officials seek to head off at the pass with the creation of Philly’s new Land Bank. An ambitious program designed to provide buyers and investors with a one-stop shop for the kind of properties that are ripe for revitalization – properties like the rowhouses – the Land Bank would handle the acquisition, maintenance, and sale of vacant properties. Only just approved in December, the Land Bank is a big deal. Others exist in cities throughout the US, but the one in Philadelphia will be the largest.

The Land Bank will serve several purposes. Not only will it put distressed properties easily within the grasp of people likely to give them new life, but it prevents speculators from snapping up parcels of sketchy real estate and leaving them lingering in development limbo while the whole neighborhood goes to pot. Officials hope that there will be a positive domino effect: crime will be reduced, real estate values will rise, small business will get a boost, and the whole city will benefit from cleaner, brighter neighborhoods. All in all, this is an exciting and promising way to kick off the new year.

Photo credit to Philly.com