Nate Howard of the Muncie Land Bank told the Muncie Redevelopment Commission on July 17 that the land bank expects to transfer the first group of Old West End properties "next week" and hopes construction will begin "by the end of this year or before the end of this year." "We feel like we've got enough from the IECD to be able to start moving forward in the old West End," Howard said.

Why it matters: transfers from the land bank will enable planned demolition, new construction and rehabilitation work in a neighborhood the city has prioritized for housing and related investments.

Howard said the land bank intends to swap two properties that are structurally suitable for rehabilitation instead of demolishing them, and offer those houses to the public for rehab while substituting other lots into the Old West End development pipeline. He said the land bank has submitted proposals to CenterPoint Energy and the Ball Brothers Foundation to support work in the Old West End and in the Whitely neighborhood.

Howard also gave a schedule for two research and planning efforts. He said the land bank received a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation grant to "do a deep dive into assessing the impacts of the tax sale in neighborhoods with the highest rates of abandonment and vacancy." The land bank plans a kickoff event for that project on Aug. 8. Howard described a separate planning engagement with Ball State University's Department of Urban Planning — a third-year planning studio — to conduct a quality-of-life survey in Whitely and Industry neighborhoods and produce a corridor and development plan addressing housing, green space, community space and connectivity.

Howard said the land bank had hosted an inheritance planning presentation by Jim Smith from Indiana Title and that the all-important legal and acquisition work is ongoing with the city and other partners.

No formal commission action was recorded on these items at the July 17 meeting. Howard said transfers and work are contingent on final approvals and ongoing grant processes.