@HTXlandbank

@HTXlandbank

@htxlandbank

Houston Land Bank (HLB), in partnership with the Houston Community Land Trust (HCLT) and with support from Fannie Mae and CenterPoint Energy Foundation, is proud to announce the launch of the Finding Home Initiative. This ambitious multi-month project will create over 100 affordable and resilient homes in Houston’s underserved neighborhoods, including Acres Homes, Independence Heights, Near Northside, Fifth Ward, Third Ward, Settegast, Magnolia Park, and Sunnyside. Click here to view the full press release.

“With this collective support, HLB can ensure that we not only meet cleanup objectives and regulatory compliance but also align project outcomes with the community’s needs and expectations. We are committed to continuous engagement and transparency throughout this project, ensuring that our efforts lead to long-term benefits for the community.”- Christa Stoneham, President and CEO. Click here to view the full press release.

This report is a testament to our collective resolve to confront and overcome the challenges facing our communities. It encapsulates the hurdles we’ve faced, the opportunities that lie ahead, and the strategies we’re implementing to navigate our path forward. From addressing economic mobility, health and environmental disparities, to enhancing affordability and accessibility to basic needs like housing, our report outlines our comprehensive approach to fostering sustainable community development.- Christa Stoneham, President and CEO. Click here to view the 2023 Annual Report.

The Houston Land Bank (HLB) and the City of Houston have established a strategic partnership to transform the former Velasco Incinerator site using innovative community development models to create lasting positive impacts for the Second Ward and surrounding area. Click here to view the full press release.

The year 2022 was defined by our motivation, acceleration, and determination to overcome current affordability challenges and stabilize housing for Houstonians today and in the future. This report presents a snapshot of our work and significant organizational milestones. Here we celebrate our partnerships and highlight collaborative efforts to serve the people who need us the most.- Christa Stoneham, President and CEO. Click here to view the 2022 Annual Report.

By unanimous vote, the Houston Land Bank (HLB) Board of Directors has selected Christa Stoneham to serve as HLB’s new chief executive officer. Read our release here.

With improvements completed at the Harry Holmes Healthy Harvest garden, more than 30 people attended our community celebration December 11 to learn more about gardening, financial literacy and home ownership opportunities. Read our release here.

The Houston Land Bank (HLB) expanded its list of builders working to construct quality affordable homes for Houstonians, adding seven new builders and retaining six more in HLB’s Traditional Homebuyer Program, after a December 9 board vote. Read our release here.

With funding support from AARP, we’ve completed improvements at the Harry Holmes Healthy Harvest Community Garden in Sunnyside. Now we’re celebrating and offering the chance to learn more about gardening and about homebuying opportunities available through HLB. Join us at our community event Saturday, December 11 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 4646 Brinkley, Houston 77051. To see our event flyer, click here.

SB 1679 became Texas law on Sept. 1, opening the door to more affordable homes, flood resilience and community development in Houston and other communities across the state. For more information on the new law, click here.

The Harry Holmes Healthy Harvest Community Garden in Houston’s Sunnyside neighborhood is to see more accessible planting beds, improved walking surfaces, perimeter lighting and an updated entryway as part of work to be done under an AARP Community Challenge Grant awarded to HLB and Urban Harvest. More information to come on volunteer opportunities and a grand opening event — meanwhile, visit AARP Community Challenge 2021 – Winning Grantees for a list of all 244 national grant recipients.

We just released a new 2020 Year-End Report, HLB’s first. To read our release, click here. To read the report, click here.

Earlier this year, Kizzy Jefferson closed on her first house. The newly finished three-bedroom, two-bathroom residence in Acre Homes, a historically Black neighborhood in Northwest Houston, sold for $75,000, less than a third of the city’s median single-family home price of $250,000. To read more, click here.

Two new mayoral appointees to the Houston Land Bank Board of Directors were confirmed by Houston City Council July 22 along with four additions to the inaugural class of HLB’s non-voting advisory board. To read more, click here.

Fourteen new affordable homes for income-qualified Houstonians are on the way in Sunnyside after the first round of lot sales under HLB’s new and improved home development initiative, and another round of lot sales is underway. To read more, click here.

Opening the door to broader partnerships for the creation of affordable homes and other community development activities, the Houston Land Bank Board of Directors’ newest member represents the Mayor’s Office of Complete Communities. To read more, click here.

The Houston Land Bank (HLB) marked another milestone in mid-April with the completion and sale of the first affordable home built under HLB supervision. To read more, click here. To view the video, click here.

After qualifying 34 builders to acquire lots and construct affordable homes for low- and moderate-income Houstonians, the Houston Land Bank is starting its new Housing Initiative by making 26 lots from its inventory available for development. To read more, click here.

A successful and still-developing partnership between the Houston Land Bank (HLB) and Houston Community Land Trust (HCLT) was highlighted as a national model in Atlanta as HLB Vice President Sam Dike and HCLT Executive Director Ashley Allen joined representatives from Atlanta’s land bank and community land trust on a panel discussing how the two types of organizations can work together to foster stronger neighborhoods and communities. To read more, click here, or you can view the panel presentation slides.

Our home sales continue, and qualified homebuyers can now get additional down payment assistance from the City of Houston. Meanwhile, our recent solicitation drew responses from 40 for-profit and non-profit builders and developers interested in HLB’s new programs and upcoming HLB property sales. To read more, click here.

Houston Land Bank hosted the Center for Community Progress’ 2019 VAD Academy in mid-May; nearly 120 attendees from 19 states visited Houston for the two-day session to discuss how to restore and rejuvenate vacant, abandoned and deteriorating properties. To read our news release, click here.