MassDevelopment and consultant begin exploratory work on community land trust for Revere
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Summary
MassDevelopment's Transformative Development Initiative (TDI) and consultant Harry Smith presented an exploratory plan to evaluate whether a community land trust (CLT) could help preserve and create affordable homeownership in Revere; the Trust agreed to engage in a planning process over the summer.
MassDevelopment representatives and a CLT consultant briefed the Revere Affordable Housing Trust on May 14 about an exploratory process to assess whether a community land trust (CLT) could be an effective tool in Revere.
Laura Christopher, representing MassDevelopment’s Transformative Development Initiative (TDI), introduced the agency’s three‑year commitment to the Shirley Avenue neighborhood and described TDI’s technical assistance offer. "TDI is here to help with sort of any of the strategies that pop out to you guys. But we're really here to talk CLT tonight," she said.
Consultant Harry Smith outlined CLT basics and local precedents. Smith said CLTs are community‑based organizations that usually own land and steward it for permanently affordable housing and other uses; homeowners hold the building and a long‑term ground lease controls resale to keep homes affordable. He cited Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative and Worcester Common Ground as regional examples and noted eight CLTs exist in the Boston area.
Smith described a proposed multi‑step process: convene a planning committee of residents, advocates, city and nonprofit stakeholders; conduct 1‑on‑1 stakeholder interviews; develop an operations plan; and convene a retreat to review recommendations. "We're not coming in pushing the land trust model," Smith said. "We want to have an open process... to analyze whether the conditions are right." Christopher told the board the exploratory scope is expected to wrap this summer and that legal and organizational steps (including 501(c)(3) formation) could follow if stakeholders endorse the model.
Board members discussed potential benefits and tradeoffs. Board member Laurie Manzo noted the CLT’s ability to accept tax‑deductible donations and attract private philanthropic funds; others observed CLTs could help protect naturally occurring affordable housing that is at risk of being redeveloped. Members requested a timeline and noted that if the analysis supports moving forward, creating a legal entity and an operations plan would be necessary steps.
Christopher and Smith asked the Trust to identify stakeholders for interviews and to join a planning committee. The board agreed to continue the conversation and to send contacts to MassDevelopment to support the CLT exploration.
