[in person] CCLBA Finance Committee + Board Meeting

@CHIdocumenters For those who don’t know the Cook County Land Bank Authority is an entity that operates across Cook County that takes possession of vacant and abandoned land and buildings and then transfers them and develops them for community assets.

@CHIdocumenters Our Agenda today is pretty light, we will be having a presentation by the chariman, and an overview of Q1 activites.

@CHIdocumenters I had minor issues getting into the meeting. As soon as I joined are moving into the executive directors report immediately. There is no discussion on the Q1 report which is immediatly passed into the record.

@CHIdocumenters The Executive Director Jessica Caffrey is now speaking giving her report.

@CHIdocumenters She highlights the February 2023 Deed Give Away. Which gave away the deeds to 12 vacant lots.
https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/deeds-for-12-vacant-lots-presented-by-cook-county-land-bank-authority

@CHIdocumenters Next she highlights the 2023 Buy Back the Block Program. This is a program where black real estate developers purchase and planned to redevelop a series of properties on a specific block.

@CHIdocumenters In this case the Land Bank sold these developers 8 lots, for $6k and the units constructed have a value of around 8 million dollars.

@CHIdocumenters Here is the core business for the first quarter. https://t.co/zTtNGXDC69

@CHIdocumenters Caffrey highlights the current inventory of properties, The majority of which are vacant lands, and over 90% of the properties are held inside Chicago. https://t.co/JCCuSiuFAg

@CHIdocumenters Inside of Chicago Caffrey highlights the neighborhoods with the most properties held by CCLBA, which overwhelmingly is on the West and South Side. https://t.co/8vV7Kt8ldP

@CHIdocumenters Also you know me, I love some maps https://t.co/fJZxm1SeiK

@CHIdocumenters Caffrey is talking about some changes coming through Springfield that will allow the landbank to speed up processes, to “get ahead of speculators”

@CHIdocumenters We are now moving on to the Cook County Equity Fund Report. Caffrey and Alex Simmons will be presenting this.

@CHIdocumenters The Cook County Comission created a $50m equity fund to create health and thriving communities specifically designed to support BIPOC communities. Of which the CCLBA is getting $5m

@CHIdocumenters In order to use the funds the CCLBA needs to use the money in regards to specific task force recommendations https://t.co/Cvrv4GwIC6

The plan is to use the fund to
1. Help people in specific communities that are being gentrified purchase properties,
2. Help distressed properties
3. Work to address the tax certificate crisis in Cook County
4. Help existing residents afford new construction on vacant lots.

Here is the details of the plan that Caffrey is presenting. https://t.co/mIHuZLnmqm

Here are the high level estimates for levels of impacts and costs. https://t.co/LPXBMac6Pf

One of the other members of the CCLBA staff (who did not introduce themselves) is talking about how this money is allowing for us to try things out specifically things like the cooperative housing project, and the pre-fab vacant lot project.

DPD Maurice Cox is up, he is talking about how DPD is working on similar iniatives, and that DPD the land bank and the Chicago Community Trust need to get around the same table to line up efforts.

Cox says that this is a multiplier effect that could pay back major dividends. He says that the city is working with about $18m to focus on a 6-8 block area.

Cox says that the CCLBA has numbers that are well above what DPD is able to do.

Cox confirms the numbers that the CCLBA is talking about when it says that it will impact 502 houses.

CCLBA says that when it says 502, the real number is 102, the other 400 is the preservation of existing units. https://t.co/yQ921OH1gg

Another staff member of CCLBA (again not introduced) says that new construction wise the actual total will depend on if there is a cluster of vacant lands.

Cox says that the problem with modular housing is that there are not actually alot of developers using them.

Cox says that clusters are the only way that this works. He says that he is encouraging the modular home community to look towards higher density. He wants them to focus on 6 flats and 8 flats.

Cox says that focusing on single family housing could lead to problems in neighborhoods down the road.

He says that there are only 2 or 3 developers doing this in the first place.

Someone else is asking how the $2m turns into 90 units.

Caffrey responds that this is assistance for downpayments, assistance for cooperative housing. She says the goal is to get costs down for homebuyers who those buying into coops.

Someone else that is a board member says that the Latino community doesn’t appreciate the word “Latine” and that they’d prefer if there was not that word in documents.

Folks continue to not introduce themselves..... ugh.

Someone else on the board expresses concern that we try and use the money to generate revenue long term and not just “give the money away”

The meeting has hit some technical difficulties. We may have finished our conversation for the day.

It seems like the finance committee portion of my live tweeting will not be happening as the stream has ended abruptly.