Ingham County Land Bank awarded top honor

LANSING, MI--During the recent Land Bank Convention, Land Banks from around the United States gathered to learn, network and share their truths and triumphs. Unbeknownst to Mary Ruttan, Executive Director of the Ingham County Land Bank, she would be walking away with an award. ''This honor was earned through the hard work and cooperation of the Ingham County Land Bank Staff, the Ingham County Board of Commissioner's and the City of Lansing," says Ruttan. This top honor named the Ingham County Land Bank the "2011 Urban Land Bank of the Year." 2011 is the first year that this award has been given and it will be given as an annual award from this year forward. Daniel Kildee, President and CEO of the Center for Community Progress, presented the Ingham County Land Bank with the award. "Half of the total number of land banks in the United States are here in the state of Michigan. We encourage others to emulate the successes of the Ingham County Land Bank." He continued, "In the case of the Ingham County Land Bank in particular, the programming is effective, the brand is clear and the leaders have exercised tremendous dedication." The award was open to all 36 Michigan land banks. The process allowed the nominees to be reviewed by the Center for Community Progress' Review Committee. Together, they compared each nominee along with information and common knowledge of each. "Eric Schertzing [as well as the Ingham County Land Bank Staff and Board] has been a large proponent and deserves to be singled out," Kildee states. The Land Bank is a county authority and a strategic economic tool that supports growth and investment of the community. Land Banks were created to return tax reverted property to productive use as rapidly as possible. These reverted properties commonly come through the tax foreclosure process. The Ingham County Land Bank will buy, renovate and resell multiple properties in a designated area with the goal of owner-occupancy. Eric Schertzing said, ''Great things are happening in Lansing. The partnership between the Ingham County Land Bank and City of Lansing is making a positive difference in our neighborhoods and creating local jobs.'' This can be shown in the results of past years. In 2010, the number of renovations grew 148% since 2009. Although the number of acquisitions was on the rise, so was the positive turn-around of these properties and betterment of local neighborhoods as nearly $873,000 was spent on the purchase of several Ingham County Land Bank properties. The Ingham County Land Bank has several sustaining programs within the organization such as the Garden Program. This program encourages individual and community gardens on vacant lots throughout the county. With over 150 potential sites in the city of Lansing, the Land Bank is able to help people obtain any necessary tools, seeds or other items to help interested parties get started. Anything grown by gardeners can be kept, sold or donated. Restoration Works is also an affiliate of the Ingham County Land Bank (in conjunction with Lansing Community College and the Allen Neighborhood Center) which supports the Eastside Neighborhood of Lansing. Their newest program, announced on June 21, 2011, is the Property Rehab and Ownership Program (PROP). Within this program, potential buyers will have the opportunity to purchase properties "as is," renovate them within the high rehabilitation and energy efficient standards of the Ingham County Land Bank and earn a credit of up to 50% of the purchase price upon completion. All of these positive aspects were all considered in winning and being named the "2011 Urban Land Bank of the Year." Published: Mon, Jul 11, 2011

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