2020 Kingston City Land Bank Milestones

On behalf of the Kingston City Land Bank, it is my pleasure to share with you a summary of some of our milestones in 2020. This has been a trying year for all of us, and to me our many of these achievements seem insignificant in the face of so much uncertainty.

However, I hope this outline of our progress renews your confidence in what a small, focused, dedicated and community-led team can accomplish, regardless of the circumstances. As you may have noticed from our Instagram, we have already begun preliminary construction to prepare for contractors to commence with our first round of rehabs in early 2021. Our hope is that in some small way, this list helps to confirm your trust that we are rapidly moving to accomplish our challenging but achievable mission to return vacant properties in Kingston to the tax rolls by producing high-quality affordable housing for all.

I would also like to offer you the opportunity to consider supporting our PILOT program (5 homes rehabbed in 2021) by contributing via our Donate page. If now is not the time for you to do so, don’t fret! There will be additional opportunities to support our mission in several different ways next year, so please sign up to our mailing list on the Main Page to stay in the loop for additional ways to get involved.

Finally, the Board and I want to invite you to join the conversation directly and jump on our public, virtual monthly Board meetings. We need all of your advice and input to be sure we are meeting the needs of all of us! Our Board meetings are typically held on the 4th Monday of every month at 6:30pm, but the specific details are posted in advance on the City’s website.

We look forward to continuing to work with all of you in 2021 and returning vacant and abandoned properties in our City to productive use, while providing opportunities for all of us to call home.

Sincerely and In Partnership,

Mike

Mike Gilliard, Executive Director, Kingston City Land Bank (KCLB)

2020 KCLB Milestones

 Corporate Governance

• Disposition Policy passed (January)
• 3 additional Kingston residents added as Board Members (May)
• Committee Charters passed (July)
• Bylaws revised (July)
• Disposition policy revised (July)
• Design Committee formed (July)
• Fundraising Committee formed (August)
• Annual budget passed (September)
• New York State Authorities Budget office Bi-Annual Report filed without comments (November)

• Funding:
  • $275K in grant funding secured to pay for acquisitions (June)
  • $500K rehab grant secured to pay for hard costs (November)
  • $780K grant awarded to fund PILOT rehab of 5 homes (December)
• Office:
  • New office space secured and rehabbed (July)
• Staffing
  • Executive Director hired (May)
  • Attorney hired (June)
  • Chief Financial Officer position hired (December)
  • Construction Project Manager position hired (December)
• Acquisitions
  • 15 properties investigated for suitability to acquire: title and environmental reports (May – December)
  • First 3 properties acquired from the City of Kingston (July)
  • Actively working with the City through title and environmental issues to acquire additional properties (ongoing)
• Operations
  • Discussions with regional potential non-profit partners for sales/marketing and volunteer labor (January – ongoing)
  • Initiated maintenance plan for properties owned by the Land Bank (August)
• Development
  • Construction Scopes of Work finalized for PILOT (August)
  • Request for Qualifications issued (August) 
  • Design Scopes of Work finalized for PILOT (September)
  • Request for Proposals issued for PILOT (October)
  • First construction permit applied for and issued (November)
  • General Contractor(s) selected for PILOT (December)
  • Construction commencement for PILOT (January 2021)