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Pittsburgh Land Bank to bundle five distressed homes in pilot residential‑rehab program
Summary
Acting Land Bank director Sally Stadelman told council the agency will market five salvageable properties as a bundle to contractors, prioritize owner‑occupants for 90 days and impose a five‑year occupancy restriction after rehab; an info session is scheduled for April 16.
Acting Pittsburgh Land Bank director Sally Stadelman told council on April 8 that the agency will pilot a bundled residential‑rehab program aimed at returning five salvageable structures in Lincoln‑Lemington‑Belmar to the market while protecting opportunities for owner‑occupants.
"We're trying something a little bit different, with these 5 structures we're acquiring in Lincoln, Lemington, Belmar," Stadelman said, describing a pilot that will skip the typical 90‑day hold for owner‑occupants only for marketing purposes and instead bundle the properties for sale to contractors while including a reverter agreement to encourage homeownership. She said the Land Bank will still prioritize owner‑occupants for the first 90 days after stabilization and will include a five‑year occupancy restriction after rehab.
Stadelman told members the pilot grew from community walks with residents and that the agency evaluated roughly 10 to 12 structures before selecting five that are salvageable. She said the program will partner with WAVE for home‑buyer preparedness and that the Land Bank is seeking additional funding, including a $1 million LSA statewide grant application intended to support stabilization of roughly 22 houses across districts three and four if awarded.
Council members asked whether cooperative or limited‑equity models could participate; Stadelman said the Land Bank would not preclude cooperative buyers and expressed interest in helping facilitate cooperative ownership, but cautioned financing and condition of the buildings constrains options. Stadelman estimated stabilizing structures is far less costly than leaving condemned properties to deteriorate to the point of city demolition.
The Land Bank will hold an information session on April 16 at the Pittsburgh Hispanic Development Corporation for homeowners, contractors and developers interested in the pilot and said it is hiring a housing development manager to support the work.
Council voted to authorize the Land Bank to acquire the listed properties at no cost to the city and praised the approach as a way to return tax‑delinquent properties to productive use. Members requested follow‑up details on eligibility, marketing and the reverter restrictions before final resale agreements are executed.
