Foundations Donate $250,000 Seed Money for Urban Land Bank

The donation will be applied to ad litem legal services and foreclosure processing fees, which were not funded through a $3-million bond package approved in 2002 by Dallas voters. TREC presented the Urban Land Bank proposal to the city in 1997, sparking the bond package and subsequent state legislation so the city could get properties directly from sheriff's sales following foreclosure proceedings. To facilitate the program, county, city and school taxing authorities inked inter-local agreements.

Through a pro bono program, TREC volunteers Bill Kramer, chairman of the board for Republic Title of Texas Inc., and Bob Feldman, founder and partner of Weil, Gotshal & Manges, and task force of professionals from their respective fields structured a plan for the land bank to become financially self-sustaining through repayment from lot sales, with clear titles, to affordable housing developers.

The foundations' donation will underwrite start-up costs for foreclosures of derelict sites. The land bank initially targets neighborhoods within Loop 12, representing some of the city's poorest sections. To date, foreclosure proceedings have been initiated against 79 of 106 properties in the first wave and another 375 lots that may be foreclosed upon in the near future.

"The Real Estate Council's primary goal is community revitalization," Linda Owen, TREC president, says in a press release. "Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase share that goal with us and see the Land Bank as an opportunity to strengthen Dallas neighborhoods." The check was presented to Dallas Mayor Laura Miller and city council by Owen, Debbie Taylor, Citigroup's corporate relations director, Tori Mannes, JPMorgan Chase-Texas' state manager, Elaine Agather, chairman and CEO of Chase Dallas.

"The land bank represents a tremendous step by the City of Dallas to create one of the largest economic development opportunities in the city's history," Linda McMahon, senior vice president of and Southwest regional manager for community development of JPMorgan Chase Bank, says, adding the program not only seeds home ownership programs for low-income families, but will generate additional tax revenue and trigger follow-up economic initiatives.