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Cass Clay Community Land Trust outlines expansion, asks Clay County to partner on land bank
Summary
The Cass Clay Community Land Trust updated commissioners on completed projects and financing and asked Clay County to consider partnership on a possible land bank to acquire and rehabilitate blighted parcels; the trust has invested roughly $6 million to produce 53 units across Cass and Clay counties.
Trenton, director of the Cass Clay Community Land Trust, updated the Clay County Board of Commissioners Tuesday on the nonprofit's housing activity and asked the county to consider partnering on a land bank that would acquire, clean up and hold blighted or tax‑forfeited parcels for community‑directed reuse.
Trenton said the organization spun out from the FM Area Foundation and is now a standalone nonprofit that focuses on "attainable workforce housing" across Cass County, North Dakota, and Clay County, Minnesota. He said the trust has secured "just over $6,000,000 to produce 53 units of affordable or attainable, long term housing," and has completed 10 projects in Clay County with seven current homeowners.
The land trust described three primary programs: new construction on vacant lots, acquisition and rehabilitation of existing homes, and a homebuyer‑initiated subsidy program that lowers purchase price through a shared‑equity model. Trenton said the trust's average investment per household has risen to about $90,000 as market prices and interest rates have changed.
Trenton described the proposed land bank as a complementary vehicle to the land trust. "A land bank acquires property through a variety of ways'purchase, donation, tax forfeiture'and then turns around [to] clean up the site and safeguard the property for the community benefit down the road," he said. He told commissioners the land bank could hold land for housing, commercial uses, parks or other community‑determined purposes.
Commissioners asked whether a land bank would qualify as a public purpose for tax‑forfeiture transfers; Trenton said the land bank's intended use would be determined by the public or municipal partners and that he believes it would meet public‑purpose requirements.
Trenton asked the county to "find more ways to partner" on identifying vacant or blighted parcels and to consider the land trust a partner as Clay County prioritizes development and reuse in rural areas. He said the trust is active in Barnesville and will expand outreach to rural Clay County communities.
Ending: The land trust requested partnership and possible financial support to pursue a land bank; trustees said they will continue conversations with county staff and city leaders to identify candidate parcels and funding paths.
