State gains 119 properties from soon-to-be dissolved Kent County Land Bank
LANSING, Mich. – The State Land Bank and Kent County officials have reached an agreement to transfer 119 remaining properties to the state due to the dissolution of the Kent County Land Bank.
“We truly value the work and partnership we’ve had with Kent County,” State Land Bank Interim Director Jeff Huntington said. “I’m glad we can finalize this agreement so that we can continue to assist Kent County in returning blighted and vacant property back to productive use.”
Kent County Commissioners voted to dissolve the land bank in Dec. 2018. Since then, county officials have been working with the State Land Bank to find a solution for the county’s remaining properties.
“I’m very glad to have this agreement in place,” Kent County Land Bank Board Chair Ken Parrish said. “I am confident that the State Land Bank will be excellent stewards of the properties now in their inventory and I look forward to seeing the great work that can be done within our county.”
The State Land Bank recently finalized a similar agreement with the City of Grand Rapids. City officials partnered with the State Land Bank to develop an agreement that supplements the role Kent County played and extends the availability of the most critical land banking services. Approximately 30 properties within the City of Grand Rapids will be held for future partnerships with non-profits for pending developments.
“The community’s focus on housing affordability and housing supply has intensified over the past several years and this new partnership gives us the opportunity to continue working on improving and creating more affordable housing in the area,” Deputy City Manager Eric DeLong said.
The State Land Bank is committed to working with communities across the state to encourage local land banking as a way to return unproductive property back to the local tax roll. To learn more about the State Land Bank’s efforts to improve communities across the state, visit Michigan.gov/LandBank.
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The mission of the Michigan Land Bank is to create positive economic impact to Michigan communities by recycling land to productive use.
