Greater Syracuse Land Bank says proposed cut would deplete reserves and slow projects

Caitlin Wright, executive director of the Greater Syracuse Land Bank, told the Syracuse City Council that the land bank is budgeted for $750,000 from the city this year and that the organization needs roughly $2,000,000 a year to operate.

Wright said the land bank holds about 800 properties in its inventory — roughly 150 structures and about 650 vacant lots — and that it costs about $2 million annually to carry the organization before capital projects such as demolitions or renovations are counted. "We have an inventory of about 800 properties, they have to be maintained, and it costs about $2,000,000 a year just to keep the land bank running," Wright said.

The land bank receives additional, project-specific grant awards from Onondaga County, New York State and federal sources, Wright said, but those grants usually fund specific capital work (for example, demolitions) and "zero out" in the year they are spent. She said the land bank historically generates roughly half of its operating revenue from sales of real estate and relies on city and county support for the remainder.

Wright said the land bank has sold almost 1,500 properties since it began and…