The City of Kingston is selling three properties that have been sitting vacant since before the city acquired them to a nonprofit that plans to rehabilitate them and sell them at affordable prices to low-income families.
Kingston”™s Common Council approved a resolution authorizing the sale of properties at 38 Chapel St., 52 Grand St., and 488 Hasbrouck St. to the Kingston City Land Bank (KCLB). The properties were acquired by the city in tax foreclosure proceedings and have been deteriorating.
KCLB agreed to take title to the properties and then invest in their rehabilitation. The nonprofit, a separate entity from the municipality, was set up to preserve affordability in housing and return distressed properties in Kingston to productive use.
The Kingston City Council in 2015 authorized creation of the KCLB and New York state through Empire State Development approved its incorporation. The New York State Land Bank Act established land banks as not-for-profit corporations created to serve the public interest by taking control of and redeveloping vacant or abandoned properties.
KCLB says that its mission is to “foster an equitable community where vacant or distressed properties are transformed into community assets that improve the quality of life for Kingston residents, stabilize and enhance neighborhoods, and create new pathways for social and economic development.”
The price paid by KCLB to the city for each property is $1 plus an additional sum that is dependent on the income level of the family that ultimately buys the property. KCLB becomes responsible for all costs associated with the property while it is undergoing rehabilitation. When KCLB sells a property it then owes an additional sum to the city that is dependent on the income of the purchasing family. For example, if a property is sold to a family whose income is 80% or less that the Area Median Income, KCLB would pay Kingston $7,000 or the full amount of outstanding taxes had been due to the city plus city fees, whichever is lower.
