National Register of Historic Places listings in Pennington County, South Dakota

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>>> OKAY, GOOD AFTERNOON, EVERYONE. I REALLY LOVE THIS ENERGY. IT'S GREAT TO SEE EVERYONE HERE AND THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR JOINING US. AND HELLO TO ALL OF YOU THAT ARE VIEWING THIS VIA WEBCAST. I'M JEAN LIN PAO, THE GENERAL DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY IN HUD'S OFFICE OF POLICY DEVELOPMENT AND RESEARCH AND IT'S MY GREAT PLEASURE TO WELCOME ALL OF YOU TO OUR QUARTERLY HOUSING MARKET UPDATE. WE HAVE A TERRIFIC AGENDA IN STORE FOR YOU. STARTING WITH OUR OWN KEVIN CANE, OUR CHIEF MARKET ANALYST THAT WILL GIVE US A REPORT ON HOW OUR HOUSING MARKETS ARE DOING BAITIONED ON THE INDICATORS -- BASED ON THE INDICATORS FROM LAST QUARTER AND WE HAVE A PANEL DISCUSSION LINED UP FOR YOU THAT'S GOING TO BE MODERATED BY OUR OWN YOLANDA CHAVEZ, OUR DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY TO GRANT PROGRAMS IN OUR OFFICE OF COMMUNITY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT AND THE TOPIC FOR DISCUSSION TODAY IS BASED ON OUR MOST RECENT EDITION OF EVIDENCE MATTERS. I HOPE ALL OF YOU HAVE PICKED UP A COPY OR DOWNLOADED IT FROM OUR HUD USER, WWW.HUDUSER.ORG WEBCAST AND THE TOPIC IS VACANT OR ABANDONED PROPERTIES, TURNING LIABILITIES INTO ASSETS. BUILDING ON THE CURRENT ISSUE, THIS UPDATE WILL CONSIDER VACANCY FROM VARIOUS PERSPECTIVES AND EXAMINE THE WORK THAT COMMUNITIES ARE DOING TO LIMIT OR REVERSE ITS NEGATIVE EFFECTS. THE PANEL WILL DISCUSS LAND BANK THAT ASSEMBLES PARCELS OF LAND AND MAINTAIN VACANT PROPERTIES LOGICAL THE LAND CAN BE RETURNED TO PRODUCTIVE USE AND WE'LL HEAR ABOUT SHORT-TERM USES SUCH AS RETAIL STORES, PARKS AND ART PROJECTS THAT BRING VIBRANCY TO OTHERWISE BLIGHTED SPACES. AND FROM YOUR AGENDA, WE'RE EXPECTING A SPECIAL GUEST. KEYNOTE ADDRESS WILL BE GIVEN BY CONGRESSMAN DAN KILDEY REPRESENTING THE FIFTH DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN AND EL SHARE HIS EXPERIENCES AS WELL AS INSIGHTS. HE WAS INSTRUMENTAL IN CREATING THE GENNESSEY LAND BANK AND HE'S A FOUNDING MEMBER OF THE CENTER FOR COMMUNITY PROGRESS, SO WE HAVE A LOT IN STORE FOR YOU AND I'M VERY EXCITED ABOUT THE UPDATE FOR YOU. NEXT UP THE KEVIN CANE. I INVITE HIM TO THE PODIUM. >> ALL RIGHT. GOOD AFTERNOON, EVERYONE. THANK YOU, JEAN. BEFORE I BEGIN, AS ALWAYS, I WANT TO THANK WENDY AND RANDALL, TWO OF OUR FIELD ECONOMISTS WHO PUT TOGETHER ALL THE MAPS THAT YOU'RE GOING TO SEE IN MY PRESENTATION THIS AFTERNOON. THEY DID ALL THE HARD WORK AND I'M JUST HERE AS THE EYE CANDY. LITTLE NOTE -- [ LAUGHTER ] LITTLE NOTE ABOUT THE MAPS. THE COLOR THEMES OF THE MAPS ARE ALL THE SAME WHERE BROWN INDICATES WORSE OFF CONDITIONS OR DECLINES IN A VARIABLE, AND BLUE INDICATES BETTER CONDITIONS OR INCREASES. FIRST, LET'S TAKE A BRIEF LOOK AT THE NATION'S ECONOMY. THE SLIDE SHOWS THE YEAR OVER YEAR PERCENTAGE CHANGE IN NON-FARM PAYROLL SINCE 2003. LOOKING AT BOTH THE 12 MONTHS AND AT THE THREE-MONTH AVERAGES THROUGH DECEMBER OF 2013. NON-FARM PAYROLLS ARE A MEASURE OF THE NUMBER OF JOBS IN THE ECONOMY. THE 12-MONTH AVERAGE IS SHOWN IN BLUE AND IT SHOWS AN ANNUAL CHANGE AND A MUCH MORE STABLE MEASURE OF ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE. THE THREE-MONTH AVERAGE IS SHOWN IN RED AND IT'S KIND OF A GOOD INDICATOR FOR WHERE THINGS ARE HEADING. DURING THE 12 MONTHS ENDING IN DECEMBER 2013, NON-FARM PAYROLLS AVERAGED NEARLY 136.4 MILLION JOBS. THIS WAS UP 1.7% OR 2.3 MILLION JOBS COMPARED WITH A YEAR AGO. THE THREE-MONTH AVERAGE WAS UP BY 1.8% FROM A YEAR AGO, AND YOU CAN SEE SLIGHTLY ABOVE THE BLUE LINE THERE. THE RATES FOR BOTH SERIES HAVE BEEN RELATIVELY STABLE SINCE JUNE OF 2012, AND YOU CAN SEE THAT WITH THE FLATTENING OF THE CURVE ON THE RIGHT SIDE. FOR THE 11th CONSECUTIVE QUARTER, EVERY REGION IN THE COUNTRY ADDED JOBS RELATIVE TO A YEAR AGO AND THE ENTIRE COUNTRY IS SHOWN IN BLUE. THE FOUR REGIONS GREW AT A FASTER RATE THAT ARE SHOWN IN DARKER BLUE, GREW AT A FASTER RATE THAN THE NATIONAL AVERAGE AND THAT INCLUDES THE PACIFIC, THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS, THE SOUTHWEST AND THE NORTHWEST. UNFORTUNATELY, FOR THE FIFTH CONSECUTIVE QUARTER, GROWTH WAS SLOWEST IN THE MID-ATLANTIC REGION AT 0.4%. RELATIVE TO A YEAR AGO, THE RATES OF GROWTH WERE UP OR THE NAME SEVEN REGIONS AND THEY WERE LOWER IN THREE OF THE REGIONS. AND THAT INCLUDED NEW YORK/NEW JERSEY, THE MID-ATLANTIC, AND THE SOUTHWEST. TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGION BY METROPOLITAN AREA. YEAR OVER YEAR GROWTH IN THIS REGION DURING THE FOURTH QUARTER OF 2013 WAS 2.4%. THIS WAS LED BY A 5.9% GAIN IN THE CONSTRUCTION SUBSECTOR, AND A 3.3% INCREASE IN THE PROFESSIONAL AND BUSINESSES SECTOR. AREAS IN THE TWO DARKEST SHADES OF BLUE GREW FASTER THAN THE NATIONAL AVERAGE AND THIS WAS LED BY GROWTH OF MORE THAN 5% IN BOTH ST. GEORGE, UTAH, AND GREELEY, COLORADO. FOLLOWED BY PROVO, UTAH. AND RAPID CITY? NOT TOO RAPIDS IT WAS THE ONLY AREA IN THE REGION TO HAVE A SLIGHT TEE CLINE IN JOBS, BUT IT WAS NECESSARY THAN 1%. THE NATIONAL UNEMPLOYMENT RATE WAS 6.2% IN 2013 AND DOWN FROM A YEAR AGO. THE SIX REGIONS IN BLUE HAD A RATE LESS THAN THE NATIONAL RATE LED BY THE GREAT PLAINS AT 4.8%. THE FOUR REGIONS IN BROWN HAD A RATE THAT WAS HIGHER THAN THE NATIONAL AVERAGE, LED BY THE PACIFIC AT 8.1%. AND ON A STAY LEVEL, NORTH DAKOTA STILL -- STATE LEVEL, TOUCHDOWN STILL HAS THE LOWEST RATE IN THE NATION AT 2.3% AND NEVADA HAS THE HIGHEST RATE AT 9%. WHAT ABOUT THE CHANGE IN THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE FROM A YEAR AGO? FROM ON A NATIONAL LEVEL, THE RATE WAS DOWN 0.8 PERCENTAGE POINTS FROM LAST YEAR. THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE DECLINE IN EVERY REGION OF THE COUNTRY, SO YOU CAN SEE THE WHOLE NATION IN BLUE. THE SIX REGIONS IN DARK BLUE DECLINED AT A RATE THAT WAS EQUAL TO OR GREATER THAN THE NATIONAL DECLINE. THE LARGEST DECLINE OCCURRED IN NEW YORK/NEW JERSEY AT 1.3 PERCENTAGE POINTS AND THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE WAS DOWN OR UNCHANGED IN 47 OF THE 50 STATES WITH VERY SLIGHT INCREASES IN OHIO, OKLAHOMA, AND MASSACHUSETTS. THE LARGEST DECLINES OCCURRED IN NORTH CAROLINA AND NEW JERSEY, WHICH WERE DOWN BY 1.9 PERCENTAGE POINTS AND 1.8 PERCENTAGE POINTS RESPECTIVELY. NOW LET ME GIVE A QUICK OVERVIEW OF CURRENT HOUSING MARKET CONDITIONS. SALES MARKET CONDITIONS REMAIL BALANCED THROUGHOUT MUCH -- REMAIN BALANCED THROUGHOUT MUCH OF THE COUNTRY. AS A BIT OF BACKGROUND, BALANCED CONDITIONS OCCUR WHEN THE QUANTITY OF HOUSING SUPPLIED EQUALS THE QUANTITY DEMANDS. SOFT MARKETS OCCUR WHEN THE SUPPLY EXCEEDS THE QUANTITY DEMANDED AND WE HAVE A SURPLUS, AND TIGHT MARKETS OCCUR WHEN DEMAND EXCEEDS SUPPLY AND WE HAVE A SHORTAGE. ALL THREE HOME PRICE INDEXES SHOWED PRICES CONTINUED TO INCREASE DURING THE FOURTH QUARTER OF 2013 WITH STRONG GAINS AMONG ALL THREE INDICES. EXISTING HOME SALES INCREASED BY 8% DURING 2013 COMPARED WITH 2012. INVENTORIES OF NEW HOMES FOR SALE WERE UP BY 14% FROM A YEAR AGO AND THEY WERE UP BY 2% FOR EXISTING HOMES. BASED ON THE CURRENT RATE OF HOLE SALES, THERE'S A FIVE-MONTH SUPPLY OF NEW HOMES AND THAT COMPARES WITH A FOUR AND A HALF MONTH SUPPLY A YEAR AGO AND A 4.6 MONTH SUPPLY OF EXISTING HOMES AND THAT ALSO COMPARES WITH FOUR AND A HALF MONTHS SUPPLY A YEAR AGO. THE SALES VACANCY RATE WAS 2.1%. RENTAL MARKET CONDITIONS ARE BALANCED TO TIGHT THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY AND ESTIMATED 64% OF NEW APARTMENTS THAT WERE COMPLETE DURING THE THIRD QUARTER OF 2013 WERE ABSORBED IN THE FOURTH QUARTER AND THAT'S UP FROM A RATE OF 63% A YEAR AGO. MOUFL PRODUCTION INCREASED BY 24% IN THE FOURTH QUARTER RELATIVE TO A YEAR AGO. LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT REGIONAL CONDITIONS. THESE ARE ASSESSMENTS PROVIDED BY OUR FIELD ECONOMISTS. RELATIVE TO LAST QUARTER, IMPROVEMENTS IN AN AREA ARE SHADED IN BLUE AND YOU WILL NOTICE THERE ARE NONE. DECLINES IN CONDITIONS ARE SHADED IN BROWN. SALES MARKET CONDITIONS REMAIN BALANCED IN MOST OF THE COUNTRY WITH SOME AREAS SHOWING A MIX OF BALANCE TO SLIGHTLY SOFT CONDITIONS, PARTICULARLY IN THE MID-ATLANTIC, SOUTHEAST, AND PACIFIC. MARKETS IN THE SOUTHWEST HAVE BEGUN TO EXHIBIT SLIGHT TIGHTENING AFTER BEING BALANCED LAST QUARTER. RENTAL MARKET CONDITIONS ALSO REMAIN RELATIVELY BALANCED THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY WITH A MIXTURE OF BALANCED TO TIGHT CONDITIONS. AGAIN, THE MARKETS IN THE SOUTHWEST HAVE GONE FROM PREVIOUSLY BALANCED CONDITIONS AND ARE NOW SHOWING SOME SLIGHT SOFTENING, AND YOU'LL SEE THIS IN MORE TEE TAIL WHEN WE LOOK AT THE -- DETAIL WHEN WE LOOK AT THE VACANCY RATE MAP. FOR THE SEVENTH CONSECUTIVE QUARTER, ALL THREE HOME PRICE INDISSEES SHOW INCREASES RELATIVE TO A YEAR AGO. THE CASE-SHILLER INDEX WAS UP BY 11.3%, SHOWN IN BLUE. THE FAFH INDEX IN RED, AND THE CORE LOGIC INDEX HERE IN BLACK UP BY 11.4%. THE RATES OF GROWTH FOR CASE-SHILLER AND FOR CORE LOGIC ARE UP ABOUT 4 PERCENTAGE POINTS RELATIVE TO THE RATE OF GROWTH A YEAR AGO AND THE FHFA INDEX IS UP BY TWO PERCENTAGE POINTS RELATIVE TO A YEAR AGO. THIS NEXT NAP, WE SEE THE CORE LOGIC INDEX BY REGION FROM THE FOURTH ADVERSITY OF 2012 TO THE FOURTH QUARTER OF 2013. THIS DATE IS NOT SEASONALLY ADJUSTED AND DOES INCLUDE DISTRESSED SALES. NATIONALLY THE INCREASE WAS 1.4% -- 11.4% WITH PRICE IS UP. FRIES GAINS WERE CONSENT STRAYED ON THE WEST COAT. THE PACIFIC REGION WAS UP NEARLY 20% AND THIS WAS THE ONLY REGION TO INCREASE FASTER THAN THE NATIONAL AVERAGE AND THAT'S WHY IT'S SHOWN IN DARK BLUE. THE NORTHWEST WAS UP BY 11.4%, WHICH EQUALED THE NATIONAL RATE OF GROWTH. TEN STATES HAD DOUBLE-DIGIT PRICE INCREASES, LED FOR THE SECOND CONSECUTIVE QUARTER BY NEVADA AND CALIFORNIA, WHERE PRICES WERE UP BY MORE THAN 0%. -- 20%. ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS BUREAU, THE MEDIAN PRICE OF A NEW HOME IN THE FOURTH QUARTER OF 2013 WAS $266,900, UP 6% FROM A YEAR AGO, AND ACCORDING TO THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REAL TO, THE MEDIAN FRIES OF AN EXISTING HOME -- PRICE OF AN EXISTING HOME WAS $196,900, UP 10% FROM A YEAR AGO. THIS NEXT MAP SHOWS THE PRICE CHANGES IN THE PACIFIC REGION AT THE METROPOLITAN LEVEL DURING THE FOURTH QUARTER OF 2013. THE MAP SHOWS THAT 41 METROPOLITAN AREAS, THE PRICES WERE UP IN EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM. 34 OF THE 41 AREAS INCREASED AT A FASTER RATE THAN THE NATIONAL AVERAGE, AND YOU CAN SEE THOSE IN DARK BLUE. PRICES IN 17 OF THOSE AREAS GREW BY MORE THAN 20%. THIS WAS LED BY A 30% INCREASE IN MODESTO. HERE WE SEE THE PERCENT OF HOMES THAT ARE 90 DAYS OR MORE DELINQUENT, IN FORECLOSURE OR REO AS OF DECEMBER 2013. REO STANDS FOR REAL ESTATE OWNED, WHICH MEANS THE LENDER NOW OWNS THE PROPERTY. THE NATIONAL AVERAGE WAS 5.6% OF ALL LOANS IN THOSE THREE CATEGORIES. THIS WAS DOWN FROM 7.1% A YEAR AGO. IN THE FOUR REGIONS THAT ARE SHOWN IN BROWN HAVE A RATE THAT'S HIGHER THAN THE NATIONAL AVERAGE, WHILE THE SIX REGIONS IN BLUE ARE BELOW THE NATIONAL AVERAGE. FOR THE SECOND CONSECUTIVE QUARTER, THE RATE DECLINED IN EVERY REGION OF THE COUNTRY. IT ALSO DECLINED IN EVERY SINGLE STATE. THE BIGGEST CHANGES OCCURRED IN THE PACIFIC AND THE SOUTHEAST, AND THIS WAS LED BY DECLINES IN FLORIDA OF 4.3 PERCENTAGE POINTS AND NEVADA OF 3.7 PERCENTAGE POINTS. LET'S TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT THAT SOUTHEAST REGION. IT HAS THE SECOND HIGHEST RATE OF DISTRESSED LOANS IN THE COUNTRY. THIS MAP SHOWS THE CHANGE FROM A YEAR AGO AND THE RAY WAS DOWN IN 81 OF THE 87 METROPOLITAN AREAS SHOWN IN BLUE. IT WAS UNCHANGED OR UP IN JUST SIX AREAS, SHOWN IN BROWN. 17 AREAS HAD A DECLINE OF MORE THAN 3 PERCENTAGE POINTS AND YOU CAN SEE THAT ALL OF THOSE ARE IN FLORIDA, ALL THE DARK BLUE DOTS THERE IN FLORIDA. EXISTING HOME SALES INCREASED BY 8.4% DURING 2013, RELATIVE TO A YEAR AGO. SALES INCREASED IN EVERY REGION EXCEPT FOR IN THE PACIFIC, WHICH WAS DOWN BY 1.2%, SO THE REST OF THE COUNTRY IS ALL IN BLUE. THE FIVE REGIONS IN DARK BLUE INCREASED AT A RATE THAFTION FASTER THAN THE -- THAT WAS FASTER THAN THE NATIONAL AVERAGE. FOR THE SECOND CONSECUTIVE QUARTER, THE LARGEST INCREASE IN SALES OCCURRED IN THE NORTHWEST, UP BY 15.1%, FOLLOWED BY THE SOUTHEAST AT 14.2%. AND JUST TO NOTE, NOT SHOWN ON THE MAP, NEW HOME SALES WERE UP BY 14% FROM THE FOURTH QUARTER OF 2012 TO THE FOURTH QUARTER OF 2013, AND THAT'S ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS BUREAU. TAKE CLOSER LOOK AGAIN AT THE PACIFIC REGION WHICH HAD THE FIRST DECLINE IN SALES SINCE THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2012. SALES WERE DOWN IN 24 OF THE 41 AREAS, AND THOSE SHOWN IN THE TWO SHADES OF BROWN. INTERESTING TO NOTE HERE, THE DECLINE WAS A RESULT OF THE DECLINE IN REO AND SHORT SALES, WHICH FELL BY 53 AND 39% RESPECTIVELY. IF WE LOOK AT NEW HOME SALES AND TRADITIONAL RESALES, THOSE WERE UP BY 8% AND 26%. SO THIS WAS THE LARGEST INCREASE IN TRADITIONAL RESALES IN THE COUNTRY, BUT THEY ALSO HAD THE LARGEST DECLINE IN REO AND SHORT SALES IN THE COUNTRY. LOOKING ON THE BUILDING ACTIVITY, SINGLE-FAMILY HOME BUILDING IS MEASURED BY BUILDING PERMITS, INCREASED BY 10% DURING THE FOURTH QUARTER OF 2013 TO 126,600 HOMES. NEW YORK/NEW JERSEY HAD A 41% GAIN, FOLLOWED BY A 20% INCREASE IN NEW ENGLAND AND A 16% INCREASE IN THE PACIFIC. ALL OTHER REGIONS HAD GAINS AROUND 10% WITH A SLIGHT DECLINE IN THE GREAT PLAINS. THE NUMBER OF MULTIFAMILY UNITS PERMITTED WAS 24%. INCREASES OCCURRED IN SEVEN REGIONS AND THIS RANGED FROM 10% IN THE MIDWEST TO 64% IN NEW YORK/NEW JERSEY. GAINS OF MORE THAN 40% OCCURRED IN THE PACIFIC AND THE NORTHWEST. THE NUMBER OF MULTIFAMILY UNITS PERMITTED DECLINED IN THE GREAT PLAINS, NEW ENGLAND, AND MID-ATLANTIC. LET'S TAKE A LOOK NOW AT VACANCY RATES. VACANCY RATES CONTINUE TO DECLINE THROUGHOUT MUCH OF THE COUNTRY AND YOU CAN SEE THOSE IN THE THREE SHADES OF THE BROWN DOTS. ACCORDING TO REESE, WHICH COVERS 275 MARKET AREAS, VACANCY RATES WERE DOWN IN 215 AREAS AND THOSE AGAIN SHOWN IN THE BROWN COLOR. THEY WERE UP IN 48 MARKET AREAS AND UNCHANGED IN 12. THE AVERAGE U.S. VACANCY RATE DECLINE BY 0.5 PERCENTAGE POINTS FROM 4.6% A YEAR AGO TO 4.1%. THERE WERE SIX MARKETS THAT HAD A DECLINE OF 2 PERCENTAGE POINTS OR MORE AND THOSE SHOWN IN THE DARKEST SHADE OF BROWN. THE LIGHT BROWN AREAS DECLINE BY LESS THAN ONE PERCENT AND THE MEDIUM BROWN AREAS DECLINE BETWEEN ONE AND TWO PERCENT. THE LIGHT BLUE AREAS INCREASED BY ONE PERCENT OR LESS. THE MEDIUM BLUE AREAS BY ONE TO TWO PERCENT AND THE DARK BLUE BY MORE THAN 2%. YOU CAN SEE THERE'S THREE OF THOSE AREAS. ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS BUREAU, FOR THE ENTIRE U.S., THE RENTAL VACANCY RATE WAS 8.2%. THIS WAS DOWN FROM 8.7% A YEAR AGO. AND LET'S TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT THE SOUTHWEST AREA. YOU CAN SEE WHERE THAT HAS A CONCENTRATION OF THOSE RISING VACANCY RATES. VACANCY RATES WERE UP IN 17 OF THE 42 AREAS IN THE REGION AND THEY WERE UNCHANGED IN TWO AREAS. THOSE ALL SHOWN IN BLUE. THE LARGEST INCREASE WAS 1.9 PERCENTAGE POINTS IN COLLEGE STATION. THE OTHER 23 AREAS HAD MODEST DECLINES IN VACANCY RATE ALL BY LESS THAN ONE PERCENTAGE POINT. RENTS WERE UP BY 3.1% NATIONALLY, ACCORDING TO REESE, FROM THE FOURTH QUARTER OF 2012 TO THE FOURTH QUARTER OF 2013. THE AVERAGE MARKET RENT FOR THE 275 AREAS COVERED WAS $1,131. THIS SXAIRS WITH 1, -- COMPARED WITH $1,097 A YEAR AGO. RENTS INCREASED IN 266 OF THE 275 AREAS. THEY WERE DOWN IN ONLY EIGHT AREAS SHOWN IN BROWN, AND UNCHANGED IN SHREVEPORT, LOUISIANA. AREAS IN LIGHT BLUE INCREASED BY LESS THAN THE NATIONAL INCREASE, AND AREAS IN THE TWO DARKER SHADES OF BLUE INCREASED BY MORE THAN THE NATIONAL AVERAGE. THE FOUR AREAS IN THE DARKEST SHADE OF BLUE HAD RENT GAINS OF MORE THAN 6% AND THAT WAS MIDLAND-ODESSA, TEXAS, VICTORIA, TEXAS, FLAGSTAFF, ARIZONA, AND THE LAST ONE, TOUGH TO SEE, WHERE'S WALDO? UP IN THE NORTHWEST, SEATTLE. TAKE A CLOSER LOOK A AGAIN AT THE PACIFIC REGION. RENTS WERE UP IN 31 OF THE 35 METROPOLITAN AREAS. 11 OF THOSE AREAS INCREASE BID MORE THAN THE NATIONAL AVERAGE. THOSE SHOWN IN THE TWO DARKER SHADES OF BLUE. THE INCREASE LED BY FLAGSTAFF, ARIZONA, AT 6.6%. OTHER NOTABLE INCREASES OCCURRED IN SAN FRANCISCO, SAN JOSE, OAKLAND, HONOLULU, PHOENIX AND SAN DIEGO. SO IN SUMMARY, YEAR OVER YEAR JOB GROWTH FOR THE FOURTH QUARTER WAS 1.8%. SALES MARKSES ARE BALANCED -- MARKETS ARE BALANCED THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY. PRICES CONTINUE TO SHOW STRONG GAINS. AGAIN TWO OUT OF THE THREE INDEXES SHOWING DOUBLE-DIGIT INCREASES AND SALES UP BY 8% AS WELL. RENTAL MARKET CONDITIONS ARE BALANCED TO TIGHT THROUGHOUT THE NATION WITH RENTS CONTINUING TO RISE AND VACANCY RATES CONTINUING TO DECLINE. FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, YOU CAN PLEASE CHECK OUT THE U.S. HOUSING MARKET CONDITIONS REPORT ON OUR WEBSITE, HUDUSER.ORG. YOU CAN TALK ABOUT YOUR LOCAL, REGIONAL OR FIELD ECONOMIST, OR YOU CAN ALWAYS FEEL FREE TO CONTACT ME. AT THIS POINT, IT GIVES ME GREAT PLEASURE TO HAND THINGS OFF TO OUR DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR POLICY DEVELOPMENT, TODD RICHARDSON. [ APPLAUSE ] >> I THINK, YOU KNOW, KEVIN'S STATISTICS ARE ALWAYS GREAT. I REMEMBER WHEN WE COME HERE AND WE JUST SEE THINGS GOING DOWN AND EVERYTHING GETTING WORSE. IT'S NICE TO SEE THINGS GETTING BETTER NOW THAT THE ECONOMY HAS TURNED AROUND HERE. SO TODAY, I'M VERY, VERY EXCITED TO -- THAT CONGRESSMAN DAN KILDEY HAS COME TO JOIN US AND I'M VERY EXCITED FOR A NUMBER OF REASONS. THE FIRST ONE, OF COURSE, IS PERSONAL. HE'S THE REPRESENTATIVE FROM MY HOMETOWN OF FLINT, MICHIGAN. AND THE SECOND IS PROFESSIONAL. HE IS ONE OF THE LEADING THINKERS ON AN ISSUE OF TREMENDOUS CONCERN TO HUD AND TO MYSELF OF HOW WE ADDRESS THE COMMUNITY IMPACTS OF VACANT AND ABANDONED PROPERTIES. I ALWAYS WANT TO NOTE THAT FLINT, MICHIGAN, IS ONE OF THE WHITE HOUSE STRONG CITIES, STRONG COMMUNITIES SITES AND WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO WORKING WITH CONGRESSMAN KILDEY AS WE MOVE FORWARD WITH THAT EFFORT. A FEW QUICK BIOITEMS. HE WAS BORN AND RAISED IN FLINT, MICHIGAN. FIRST ELECTED TO OFFICE IN 1977. NOTE E THE YOUNGEST ELECTED OFFICIAL IN THE NATION WHEN HE WAS ELECTED OR ONE OF THE YOUNGEST, TO THE FLINT BOARD OF EDUCATION, AND I REMEMBER EVER SINCE I COULD VOTE OR PROBABLY BEFORE I COULD VOTE, THAT YOU COULD ALWAYS VOTE FOR DAN KILDEY BECAUSE HE CONTINUED TO RUN FOR OFFICE. IN 1985, HE WAS ELECTED TO THE AGAIN NECESSARY SEE COUNTY WORD OF COMMISSIONERS WHERE HE -- BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS WHERE HE SERVED TWELVE YEARS. IN 1997, HE WAS ELECTED AS COUNTY TREASURER WHERE HE SERVED UNTIL 2009 AND IN THAT POSITION, HE FOUNDED THE GENNESSEE LAND BANK IN 2002. IT'S MICHIGAN'S FIRST LAND BANK AND IT'S A MODEL FOR OTHERS AROUND THE NATION. THE LAND BANK IS RESPONSIBLE FOR OVER $100 MILLION IN REDEVELOPMENT IN FLINT. IN 2009, HE CO-FOUNDED AND SERVED AS THE PRESIDENT OF THE CENTER FOR COMMUNITY PROGRESS WHERE HE SERVED AS ONE OF THE NATION'S LEADING VOICES ON URBAN LAND REFORM AND REVITALIZATION, AND IN 2012, HE WAS ELECTED TO HIS FIRST TERM OF CONGRESS WHERE HE CONTINUES TO BE A STRONG STROIS ON THE ISSUES OF -- VOICE ON THE ISSUES OF VACANT AND ABANDONED PROPERTY. A WARM WELCOME, PLEASE, FOR DAN KILDEY. >> THANK YOU. FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU, TODD, AND EVERYBODY HERE AT HUD FOR INVITING ME BACK. I SEE SO MANY FAMILIAR FACES, FOLKS THAT I WORKED WITH, BUT IT'S ESPECIALLY NICE TO SEE KIM FROM THE CENTER FOR COMMUNITY PROGRESS, ALAN WHOM I'VE KNOWN FOR AN AWFULLY LONG TIME, TERRY SCHWARZ, WE WORKED TOGETHER. LOTS OF FOLKS THAT I SPENT A LOT OF TIME OVER THE MANY YEARS THAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON THIS ISSUE OF VACANT PROPERTIES AND IT'S AN IMPORTANT FOLLOW-ON TO THE PRESENTATION ON HOUSING DATA TO TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE COMMUNITIES AND SOME OF THE SITUATIONS, CONDITIONS IN COMMUNITIES THAT ARE STILL STRUGGLING, EVEN AFTER WE'VE EXPERIENCED WHAT HAS BEEN, WE ALL WOULD ADMIT, A UL-TOO- -- ALL-TOO-SLOW ECONOMIC RECOVERY, BUT THERE ARE POCKETS WHERE WE'RE STILL SEEING PRETTY SIGNIFICANT DIFFICULTY AND I THINK THE CHALLENGE TO ALL OF US EITHER AS POLICYMAKERS OR THOSE CHARGED WITH TRANSLATING POLICY INTO REAL PROGRESS ON THE GROUND, IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE ACKNOWLEDGE THAT WHILE WE MAY HAVE SEEN SOME RECOVERY, THAT THERE ARE PLACES, EVEN IN PERIODS OF STRONG ECONOMIC GROWTH, THAT ARE LEFT BEHIND, PLACES WITHIN PERFORMING COMMUNITIES BUT ESPECIALLY CONCERNING IS THAT THERE ARE WHOLE COMMUNITIES THAT HAVE BEEN LEFT BEHIND. I THINK BACK TO THE PERIOD OF ECONOMIC GROWTH AND EXPANSION OF THE 1990s WHERE WE SAW 22 MILLION JOBS CREATED, TREMENDOUS VALUE GROWTH IN REAL ESTATE AND IN OUR COMMUNITIES IN GENERAL, WE STILL SAW MANY PLACES, INCLUDING OUR HOMETOWN OF FLINT, ACTUALLY GOING IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION. SO WHEN WE MAKE POLICY AND WHEN YOU IMPLEMENT, OBVIOUSLY WE ALL HAVE TO KEEP IN MIND THAT THERE WILL BE EXCEPTIONS TO PERIODS OF GROWTH AND THAT THOSE EXCEPTIONS ARE NOT JUST BECAUSE THESE COMMUNITIES AND THESE PLACES WITHIN COMMUNITIES ARE EXPERIENCING BAD LUCK. IT'S BECAUSE THERE ARE HOLES IN OUR POLICY APPROACHES THAT HAVE LEFT MANY OF THESE COMMUNITIES BEHIND, SO IT'S KIND OF INCUMBENT UPON US TO THINK ABOUT THAT. SO THE DISCUSSION THAT I'LL JUST TEE UP AND THERE WILL BE CERTAINLY FOLKS THAT ARE A LOT SMARTER ON THIS THAN I AM FOLLOWING ME, WILL BE TO FOCUS ON HOW WE DEAL WITH VACANT AND ABANDONED PROPERTIES, AND, OF COURSE, EVERYTHING I HAVE TO TALK ABOUT COMES FROM MY PREVIOUS WORK, NOT SO MUCH MY WORK IN CONGRESS. YOU DO NOT GET SMARTER AFTER YOU GET ELECTED TO CONGRESS DESPITE WHAT SOME MIGHT SAY. I AM OF THE VIEW THAT THE TREND ACTUALLY MIGHT BE IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION BASED ON MY RECENT EXPERIENCE. SO I'LL BE LEANING MOSTLY ON THE WORK THAT I'VE DONE INNEY AND OTHER PLACES -- IN MICHIGAN AND OTHER PLACES. THE QUESTION REALLY IS HOW DO WE DEAL WITH THIS REALLY DIFFICULT PROBLEM OF FINDING A NEW USE, NEW PURPOSES FOR VACANT PROPERTY THAT FITS WITH THE MORE RATIONAL DESIGN, A NEW DESIGN OF SUCCESS FOR COMMUNITIES AND NEIGHBORHOODS THAT ARE REALLY STRUGGLING. THE PROBLEM, OF COURSE, THAT WE HAVE HAD IN THIS COUNTRY FOR A LONG, LONG TIME IS THE NOTION THAT A GROWING COMMUNITY, I MEAN WHEN WE HEAR THE TERM "GROWING COMMUNITY," IT IMPLIES SUCCESSFUL COMMUNITY, WHICH WOULD ALSO TEND TO IMPLY THAT A COMMUNITY THAT MIGHT BE GOING THROUGH FAIRLY DRAMATIC ECONOMIC CHANGES AND POPULATION CHANGES AS A RESULT IS, BY DEFINITION, CONSIGNED TO BE A FAILING COMMUNITY. AND I JUST DON'T THINK THAT WE CAN ACCEPT THAT. AS POLICYMAKERS AND AS FOLKS CHARGED WITH TRYING TO BUILD HEALTHY AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES, THAT THE SINGULAR DEFINITION OF A SUCCESSFUL COMMUNITY IS ONE THAT IS GROWING. WE HAVE TO ACCEPT THE FACT THAT THERE WILL BE COMMUNITIES, AS THERE HAS BEEN FOR ALL OF HISTORY, THAT GO THROUGH THE EBB AND FLOW OF ECONOMIC CONDITIONS AND THE POPULATIONS WILL EXPAND AND CONTRACT, AND IT'S NOT JUST ONE SINGLE PERIOD OF GROWTH FOLLOWED BY THE DEATH OF A COMMUNITY, BUT A LIFE CYCLE OF A COMMUNITY. WE HAVE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT AND WE HAVE TO CREATE POLICY THAT DEALS WITH THAT. TO DO THAT, COMMUNITIES, AND THIS IS WHERE WE COME IN, HAVE TO HAVE SUPPORT, I BELIEVE, IN RETHINKING AND REDESIGNING WHAT SUCCESS MIGHT ACTUALLY LOOK LIKE. COMING UP WITH PLANS. HUD HAS BEEN CERTAINLY VERY HELPFUL EVEN IN MY OWN HOMETOWN OF HELPING TO COME UP WITH A PLAN, A NEW MASTER PLAN FOR THOSE COMMUNITIES SO THAT THE PICTURE OF SUCCESS THAT ALL OF OUR EFFORT IS ATTEMPTING TO ACHIEVE IS ONE THAT IS ALIGNED WITH THE REALITIES OF THE MARKETPLACE, OF THE REAL POPULATION THAT WE HAVE, OF THE REAL ECONOMY THAT EXISTS IN THESE COMMUNITIES, AND OF A TRUE AND MORE REALISTIC ASPIRATION FOR THOSE PLACES. IF WE DON'T START FROM THAT POINT, IT'S ALWAYS GOING TO BE MATTER OF TRYING TO CHASE SOMETHING, CHASE A SORT OF PHANTOM VISION OF SUCCESS, SO THE WORK THAT YOU ARE DOING IN SUPPORTING COMMUNITIES WHO ARE WILLING TO RETHINK WHAT THEY LOOK LIKE AND HOW THEY'RE CONFIGURED IS REALLY IMPORTANT WORK AND IT'S, I THINK, A CRITICAL PREDECESSOR TO SOME OF THE OTHER TOOLS THAT ARE REALLY CRITICAL AS WELL IN REALIZING THAT, THAT NEW DEFINITION OF SUCCESS, SO IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE KEEP THAT IN MIND. SO THE PLANS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, THE DESIGN, THE PICTURE OF SUCCESS FOR A COMMUNITY, INCLUDES OBVIOUSLY THE ROLE RANGE OF VARIABLES. HOW WE ALIGN INFRASTRUCTURE, HOW WE CREATE OPEN SPACE, WHERE WE DEVELOP HOUSING AND NEW -- PARTICULARLY NEW HOUSING, WHERE THE COMMERCIAL CORRIDORS SHOULD BE, HOW WE ACCOMMODATE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT THROUGH THE USE OF -- REUSE OF INDUSTRIAL SPACE, PARTICULARLY BROWNFIELDS. HOW WE DESIGN OPEN SPACE TO ACCOMMODATE THE FACT THAT A COMMUNITY SUCH AS MY HOMETOWN THAT ONCE HAD A POPULATION OF 200,000 AND IS NOW BARELY AT 100,000, CAN ACTUALLY BE A SUSTAINABLE PLACE WITHOUT HAVING TO REPOPULATE ITSELF TO ALIGN WITH A DESIGN THAT PERHAPS RIGHTFULLY BACK IN 1965 EXPECTED THAT THE COMMUNITY WOULD CONTINUE TO GROW, NOT FORESEEING THESE BIG GLOBAL CHANGES, ECONOMIC CHANGES THAT WOULD TAKE ITS POPULATION IN A DIFFERENT DIRECTION. THE BIG PROBLEM -- THIS IS WHERE WE TALK ABOUT THE PARTICULAR PROBLEM AS IT RELATES TO DISTRESSED PROPERTIES AND VACANT AND ABANDONED PROPERTIES. THE PLACES THAT WE DESCRIBED, THESE ARE BOTH NEIGHBORHOODS WITHIN MORE FUNCTIONAL PLACES, BUT AS I SAID, WHOLE COMMUNITIES. UNFORTUNATELY, MOST OF OUR PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SYSTEMS THAT DEAL WITH VACANT AND ABANDONED PROPERTY TEND TO DEAL WITH THEM IN A FASHION THAT ASSUMES THAT SIMPLY GETTING THESE PROPERTIES, QUOTE, TO THE MARKET IS THE REAL OBSTACLE AND THE MARKET, AND SORT OF THE MAGICAL AND INVISIBLE HAND OF THE MARKET CAN DEAL WITH THESE PROPERTIES IS ALL THAT WE NEED TO DO, TO CREATE SYSTEMS THAT WILL GET THE PROPERTY THAT IS ABANDONED INTO THE HANDS OF A -- ITS NEXT OWNER. WHERE VERY OFTEN, IT'S NOT QUITE SO SIMPLE AND IF YOU GO TO A PLACE LIKE FLINT OR SAGINAW OR DETROIT OR CLEVELAND OR YOUNGSTOWN, YOU CAN SEE THE RESULT OF SYSTEMS THAT HAVE QUICKLY OR IN SOME CASES NOT SO QUICKLY TRANSFERRED DISTRESSED PROPERTIES ABOUT THE HANDS OF NEW OWNERS ONLY TO REALIZE OVER TIME THAT IT'S JUST NOT GETTING A NEW NAME ON THE TITLE TO A PIECE OF PROPERTY THAT TAKES IT FROM BEING A LIABILITY TO BEING AN ASSET. BUT WE HAVE TO, AS COMMUNITIES, HAVE TO BE MUCH MORE STRATEGIC ABOUT THE REUSE STRATEGIES AND HOW WE REDEVELOP THESE PLACES. AND ESPECIALLY IN MARKETS, YOU KNOW, IN LOOKING AT THE DATA, YOU CAN SEE THAT THERE ARE SOME MARKETS WHERE YOU MIGHT HAVE SEEN SOME INCREASE IN VALUE, BUT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A STARTING POINT WHERE THE VALUES ARE SO LOW, IT'S THAT REALLY DIFFICULT TO FIND ADEQUATE SUPPORT IN THE FORM OF SUBSIDY TO GET A PROPERTY INTO A CONDITION WHERE IT CAN BE A FUNCTIONAL PROPERTY IN A NEIGHBORHOOD, SAY IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY, THE VALUES JUST NOT THERE. IF WE FORCE EACH INDIVIDUAL VACANT PROPERTY TO JUSTIFY ITS PLACE IN THE MARKET ALL BY ITSELF WITH ITS OWN VALUE AND WHATEVER SUBSIDY IS AVAILABLE IN ORDER TO MOVE IT INTO A CONDITION WHERE IT CAN BE FUNCTIONAL, WHERE I COME FROM, THAT WOULD BE A DEATH SENTENCE FOR VIRTUALLY ALL, IF NOT ALL THE PROPERTIES THAT ARE VACANT IN MY HOMETOWN. BECAUSE THERE'S JUST SIMPLY NOT AN ADEQUATE AMOUNT OF SUBSIDY AVAILABLE TO GET THESE PROPERTIES REDEVELOPED AND USEFUL AND BACK INTO THE MARKET IN A WAY THAT WE WOULD BE PROUD TO HAVE THEM THERE. SO WE HAVE TO RETHINK THE WAY WE DEAL WITH THEM. AND SO THE SYSTEMS -- AND AGAIN, A LOT OF US HAVE TALKED ABOUT THIS OVER THE YEARS THAT, WE HAVE TO THINK ABOUT STARTS WITH, I THINK, REFRAMING THE WAY WE DEAL WITH THESE PROBLEM PROPERTIES AND NOT THINK ABOUT THEM AS AN ASSET THAT WE CAN SIMPLY LIQUIDATE, GET OFF THE BOOKS AND INTO THE HANDS OF SOME NEW OWNER, BUT BEGIN TO THINK ABOUT HOW WE USE THE AUTHORITIES OF PARTICULARLY LOCAL GOVERNMENT THROUGH STATE LAW TO MUCH MORE CAREFULLY AND DELIBERATELY REPURPOSE PROPERTY IN A MANNER THAT ALLOWS US TO INTERNALIZE THE COSTS AND THE BENEFITS OF REDEVELOPING THOSE PROPERTIES WITH THE NOTION THAT WE BRING UP THE VALUE OF ALL THE SURROUNDING LAND AND NOT SIMPLY ALLOW THE MARKET TO THINK OF THESE PROPERTIES AS A COMMODITY UPON WHICH THEY CAN SPECULATE WHEN WHAT WE'VE SEEN TOO OFTEN WITH BULK SALES TO SINGLE PURCHASERS OR AUCTION SALES TO SPECULATORS IS THAT THE PROPER IS NO LONGER TREAT -- PROPERTY IS NO LONGER TREATED AS IF IT'S A PIECE OF REAL ESTATE IN A NEIGHBORHOOD. IT'S TREATED AS A COMMODITY THAT CAN BE BOUGHT AND SOLD AND ONLY HAS VALUE AS A SPECULATIVE COMMODITY IN A MARKETPLACE GENERALLY OVER THE INTERNET AND NOT IN A NEIGHBORHOOD. SO RETHINKING THE DESIGN QUESTION, RETHINKING HOW COMMUNITIES DEAL WITH CODE ENFORCEMENT TO GET AT THESE DISTRESSED PROPERTIES EARLIER IN THE CYCLE OF DECLINE AND SUPPORTING THOSE EFFORTS, BUT ESPECIALLY FINDING WAYS TO ENCOURAGE THE REFORM OF TAX COLLECTION SYSTEMS, TAX FORECLOSURE SYSTEMS, THE STUFF THAT IF I SPENT ANY MORE TIME TAIG TALKING ABOUT IT, I'D KNOCK -- TIME TALKING ABOUT IT, I'D KNOCK YOU ALL OUT INTO A SOUND SLEEP. THESE ARE REALLY IMPORTANT SYSTEMS BECAUSE FOR THE MOST PART, IT'S BEEN THESE SLEEPY LITTLE SYSTEMS OF TAX FORECLOSURE AND TAX SALE THAT HAVE FED THE SPECULATOR INDUSTRY AND HAVE COST US IN THE COMMUNITIES DEARLY SINCE WE PUT THE PROPERTIES IN THE HANDS OF THE LEAST RESPONSIBLE OWNER AND WONDER WHY THE CONTAGIOUS NATURE OF BLIGHT CONTINUES TO SPREAD. SO IT'S THE DEVELOPMENT OF LAND BANKS AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE AUCTION SYSTEM WHERE A COMMUNITY CAN BASICALLY, ESSENTIALLY, HOMOGENIZE THE ECONOMICS OF AN ENTIRE INVENTORY OF PROPERTY RATHER THAN HAVING A HANDFUL OF PROPERTIES REWARD SPECK LAYERS WITH HIGH PROFITS, USE SOME OF THE VALUE THAT COMES FROM THOSE DISTRESSED PROPERTIES THAT CAN BE REPURPOSED AS A SOURCE OF INTERNAL SUBSIDY TO OFFSET THE COSTS OF REINVESTING IN PLACES FOR WHICH THE MARKET IS COMPLETELY UNABLE TO ABSORB AND FOR WHICH THERE IS NOT ENOUGH SUBSIDY EVEN COMING FROM THIS BUILDING TO SUPPORT THE REDEVELOPMENT OF THOSE PROPERTIES. THERE ARE WAYS TO GET AT THIS, BUT IT REQUIRES US TO RETHINK HOW WE SUPPORT LOCAL COMMUNITIES. AND I THINK THE ROLE PARTICULARLY WITHIN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT HAS TO BE ONE THAT CREATES A SUPPORT IN THE PLANNING FOR, BUT ALSO SUPPORT IN INCENTIVIZING THE REFORM OF THESE OBSOLETE SYSTEMS AT THE LOCAL LEVEL THAT MAKE IT REALLY DIFFICULT FOR COMMUNITIES TO GET THEIR ARMS AROUND THE PROBLEM OF VACANT PROPERTY. WE HAVE -- WE CAN, I THINK, BE AN AGENT OF CHANGE IN THOSE PLACES BY PROVIDING SOME INCENTIVE FOR THEM TO RETHINK THOSE SYSTEMS THAT THEY DON'T THINK OF AS BEING ESSENTIAL TO A STRONG OR SAFE NEIGHBORHOOD. THEY THINK OF IT AS A SYSTEM OF TAX COLLECTION WHEN IT HAS IMPLICATIONS THAT MAKE YOUR JOB, OUR JOB, A WHOLE LOT MORE DIFFICULT. IT DOES NOT MAKE SENSE TO ME FOR US TO CONTINUE TO PUSH RESOURCES INTO COMMUNITIES TO SOLVE A PROBLEM THAT IS EXACERBATE BID THE FACT THAT THEY'RE NOT WILLING -- EXACERBATED BY THE FACT THAT THEY'RE NOT WILLING TO TAKE ON OBSOLETE SYSTEMS THAT REWARD SPECULATORS AND MAKE VACANT PROPERTY A BONANZA FOR OUT OF STATE ENTREPRENEURS, IF YOU WANT TO CALL THEM THAT, AND MAKE OUR JOB THAT MUCH MORE DIFFICULT. AND I'LL JUST END BY SAYING THIS. ONE OF THE THINGS ABOUT MY WORK AT THE CENTER FOR COMMUNITY PROGRESS THAT WAS FRUSTRATING AT TIMES WAS TO SEE COMMUNITIES WHO WOULD ORGANIZE -- AND YOU KNOW THIS -- FIGHT, SCRATCH, CAJOLE, TO TRY TO GET THEIR HANDS ON THOSE PRECIOUS RESOURCES, TAKING THE NEIGHBORHOOD STABILIZATION PROGRAM AS AN EXAMPLE BECAUSE I RECALL THE NSP-2 COMPETITION AND HOW SO MANY COMMUNITIES REALLY WENT AFTER THOSE DOLLARS, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, ARE UNWILLING TO RETHINK THE WAY THEY DEAL WITH VACANT, ABANDONED PROPERTY, TAX FORECLOSURE, AND ACTUALLY GIVE AWAY PUBLIC RESOURCES IN THE FORM OF TAX LIENS AND TAX RECEIVABLES THAT'S GREATER OR AT LEAST EQUAL TO THE AMOUNT THEY MIGHT HAVE RECEIVED THROUGH CDBG, HOME, AND NSP. THEY HAVE THEIR OWN LITTLE NSP MACHINE THAT THEY COULD BE USING BY RE-ENGINEERING THEIR TAX FORECLOSURE AND TAX COLLECTION SYSTEMS TO CREATE A REVENUE SOURCE THAT COULD HELP THEM DEAL WITH THE DISTRESSED PROPERTIES FOR A LONG TIME INTO THE FUTURE. I THINK OUR ROLE WOULD BE TO TRY TO CREATE AN ENVIRONMENT WHERE WE AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL CAN BECOME PARTNERS WITH MUCH SMARTER SYSTEMS AT THE LOCAL LEVEL. I THINK THAT'S OUR CHALLENGE AND IF THERE'S ANYTHING I CAN DO TO BE THAT VOICE IN CONGRESS, I'LL DO IT, BUT REALLY, THE WORK IS DONE BY THE PEOPLE IN THIS ROOM. THANK YOU FOR GIVING ME JUST A FEW MINUTES TO TEE UP WHAT I HOPE WILL BE A REALLY INFORMATIVE DISCUSSION WHICH I'M HAPPY TO STICK AROUND AND BE A PART OF. SO THANK YOU. [ APPLAUSE ] >> SO DAN IS GOING TO HANG OUT FOR SOME OF THE FURTHER PRESENTATIONS, BUT JUST IN CASE HE HAS TO LEAVE EARLY, CONGRESSMEN ARE HARD TO KEEP TRACK OF -- >> THANK GOD. >> HE'S AGREED TO ANSWER A FEW QUESTIONS IF FOLKS HAVE TWO OR THREE QUESTIONS TO ASK, IF FOLKS WOULD LIKE TO ASK A QUESTION OF DAN, FEEL FREE TO STEP UP TO ONE OF THE MICROPHONES. I'LL START YOU OFF, DAN, JUST REAL QUICK. >> ALL RIGHT. >> WHEN YOU THINK BACK TO THE LAW THAT MADE THE GENNESSEE COUNTY LAND BANK POSSIBLE, IF YOU THINK ABOUT WHAT THAT LAW IS AND YOU THINK ABOUT THE OTHER LAWS IN OTHER STATES, WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE MOST EFFECTIVE LAW TO -- THAT HANDLES THE VACANT, ABANDONED, TAX-FORECLOSED PROPERTIES. >> THERE ARE REALLY THREE, BUT I'LL FOCUS ON ANSWERING THE QUESTION. THE ONE MOST SIGNIFICANT PIECE FOR ME WAS REFORM OF MICHIGAN'S TAX FORECLOSURE LAW WHICH IN THE OLD DAYS ALLOWED SPECULATORS TO PURCHASE TAX RECEIVABLES FROM COMMUNITIES IN EXCHANGE GENERALLY FOR A DISCOUNT ON WHAT THE TOTAL RECEIVABLE WAS, AND THEN THOSE PRIVATE INVESTORS WOULD REAP THE BENEFIT OF THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION OF THOSE PROPERTY TAXES AND PAY NO CONCERN TO WHAT HAPPENS TO THE HANDFUL OF PROPERTIES FOR WHICH THERE ARE NO TAXES PAID AND THOSE PROPERTIES THEN END UP GOING BACK TO THE STARTING POINT AGAIN AND GO THROUGH THIS VICIOUS CYCLE. THE SYSTEM THAT WE DEVISED ALLOWED -- I WAS A COUNTY TREASURER AT THIS POINT IN TIME. IT ALLOWED THE COUNTY TO ISSUE SHORT-TERM DEBT TO FULLY FUND ALL OF ITS VACANT OR ALL OF ITS DELINQUENT TAXES, PAY ALL THE MUNICIPAL JURISDICTIONS THEIR UNPAID TAXES, AND THEN BE OUR OWN SPECULATOR. COLLECT THOSE VACANT -- THE PROPERTIES ON THE DELINQUENT TAX ROLLS, COLLECT THOSE TAXES, TAKE THE MARGIN, THE SPREAD WHICH IS QUITE SUBSTANTIAL, 18% IN MICHIGAN, 20% IN OHIO, TAKE THAT SPREAD, OFFSET THE UNCOLLECTED TAXES AGAINST IT, AND STIM HAVE SUBSTANTIAL -- STILL HAVE SUBSTANTIAL, WE DON'T CALL IT PROFIT IN GOVERNMENT, BUT I THINK YOU KNOW WHAT I'M SAYING -- SURPLUS THAT COULD BE REDEDICATED TO SUPPORTING THE REDEVELOPMENT OF PROPERTIES FOR WHICH YOU WOULD NEVER BE ABLE TO FINE ENOUGH SUBSIDY AND THIS GENERATED MILLIONS OF DOLLARS A YEAR IN MY HOME COMMUNITY OF FLINT. THAT WAS THE MOST SUBSTANTIAL REFORM, CREATING A LAND BANK ACT THAT HELPS BE THE VEHICLE FOR DISTRIBUTION OF THE PROPERTY. THAT WAS IMPORTANT, AND THEN REDEVELOPMENT, OR RE-ENGINEERING OF OUR TAX INCREMENT FINANCING TOOLS IN MICHIGAN ALSO ALLOWED US TO HOMOGENIZE A WHOLE SET OF PROPERTIES AND REFINANCE DEVELOPMENT AS WELL. THOSE WERE THE THREE, BUT THE ONE IS THE TAX FORECLOSURE LAW THAT I THINK IS MOST IMPORTANT. >> ONE OTHER QUESTION. I GET THAT LOOK SAYING ARE YOU CRAZY, TODD. >> THIS FEELS REALLY FAMILIAR SITTING UP HERE WITH ALL OF YOU. HEY, YOLANDA, HOW ARE YOU? >> I'M JUST CURIOUS AS TO WHAT OUTLOOK YOU SEE FOR PLACES LIKE FLINT, SAGINAW, AND DETROIT? I MEAN, THEY SORT OF HAVE IMPLODED POPULATION WISE. DO YOU SEE THE POPULATION COMING BACK AT ANY POINT? AND IF SO, HOW? >> I THINK THE LONGER TERM TRENDS MIGHT SUPPORT REDEVELOPMENT, REPOPULATION. IN FLINT, FOR EXAMPLE, WE'VE SEEN THE DEVELOPMENT OF A DOWNTOWN FAEBD WHICH WE DIDN'T HAVE -- NEIGHBORHOOD, WHICH WE DIDN'T HAVE BEFORE. IT WAS ABOUT A THOUSAND PEOPLE OR SO LIVING IN DOWNTOWN, BUT IT'S -- THE LONGER TERM PROSPECTS I THINK HAVE TO DO WITH THESE MUCH LARGER TRENDS THAT HAVE TO DO WITH TRANSPORTATION COSTS AND, YOU KNOW, WE ALL -- MOST OF US THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, RABIDLY PRO URBAN BELIEVE ULTIMATELY THERE WILL BE A WAY TO GET BACK -- PEOPLE BACK INTO THESE COMMUNITIES. THE REAL CONCERN THAT I HAVE IS THAT PLACES LIKE FLINT AND SAGINAW AND OTHER PLACES THAT DON'T DEAL WITH THEIR BLIGHT ISSUES WON'T BE POSITIONS WHEN THOSE TRENDS ACTUALLY BEGIN TO WORK IN OUR DIRECTION BECAUSE WE WON'T HAVE INVENTORY IN A FORM THAT THE MARKET CAN ABSORB. WE'LL HAVE PROPERTIES WITH THOUSANDS OF DISPARATE OWNERS, WITH MURKY TITLE, AND BLIGHT SURROUNDING THEM AND, YOU KNOW, EVEN IF THERE IS A WIND BLOWING THE WAY OF THE CITY IN TERMS OF THE DEMAND FOR URBAN, YOU KNOW, URBAN HOUSING, THESE COMMUNITIES WILL NOT BE ABLE TO ADVANTAGE THEMSELVES OF THAT, AND THAT'S THE BIGGER CONCERN. BUT IT'S A GOOD QUESTION, THANK YOU. [ INAUDIBLE COMMENTS ] >> WELL, OBVIOUSLY, I MEAN THERE'S ALWAYS THE CHICKEN AND EGG QUESTION OF JOBS. I WON'T GO INTO WHAT NEEDS TO BE A MUCH BROADER SET OF STRATEGIES BECAUSE THAT WOULD TAKE FOREVER. BUT THE ONE PIECE OF THIS IS THAT THERE'S BEEN A CHANGE IN THE WAY JOB MARKETS WORK WHERE PLACE MATTERS. PEOPLE DON'T JUST GO TO WHERE THE BIG FACTORY IS. THERE'S A DIFFERENT SORT OF ECONOMIC ENGINE EVOLVING AROUND SMALL BUSINESS AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP, AND WHERE DO THOSE FOLKS WANT TO GO TO PLANT THEMSELVES AND TO CREATE THEIR NEW OPPORTUNITY? IN A PLACE THAT'S INTERESTING AND THAT'S WHY WE REALLY NEED TO THINK ABOUT THESE COMMUNITIES AS POTENTIALLY BEING MAGNETS FOR INTEGRATION AND MAGNETS FOR YOUNG AND YOUNG-THINKING PEOPLE TO MOVE TO. >> THANKS, DAN. AT THIS POINT, I'M GOING TO TURN THINGS OVER TO YOLANDA CHAVEZ, MY GOOD FRIEND AND PARTNER ON MANY GREAT ENDEAVORS HERE, SO I'LL PASS IT OVER TO YOU. >> THANK YOU. THANK YOU, TODD. THANK YOU, CONGRESSMAN FOR BEING HERE. GOOD AFTERNOON. I WANTED TO FIRST SAY A FEW WORD WORDS ABOUT SOME OF THE PROGRAMS THAT I OVERSEE BECAUSE I ACTUALLY HAVE THE PRIVILEGE TO OVERSEE, ALONG WITH REALLY AMAZING PROGRAM TEAMS, SOME OF THE KEY PROGRAMS THAT HELP STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT ADDRESS EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE DISCUSSING TODAY, HOW WE DEAL WITH VACANT AND ABANDONED PROPERTIES AND THE FIRST TWO KEY ONES ARE FORMULA PROGRAM, CDBG AND HOME, BUT IN ADDITION, FOR THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS, WE'VE BEEN EXTREMELY FOCUSED ON THE NEIGHBORHOOD STABILIZATION PROGRAM, OR BETTER KNOWN AS NSP. AND AS I THINK MOST OF YOU KNOW, AND IF YOU HAVEN'T READ ABOUT IT, IT'S IN EVIDENCE MATTERS, THE NSP PROGRAM IS A $7 BILLION EFFORT TO HELP LOCAL COMMUNITIES REALLY DO WHAT WE'RE ADDRESSING HERE, WHAT THE PANEL WILL BE ADDRESSING THIS AFTERNOON, IS HOW DO WE TAKE LIABILITIES, FORECLOTHED, VACANT AND ABANDONED PROPERTY -- FORECLOSED, VACANT AND ABANDONED PROPERTIES AND TURN THEM INTO COMMUNITY ASSETS. SO LET ME JUST TELL YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHERE OTHER ON NSP. WE ACTUALLY PROJECT THAT NSP WILL TREAT OVER 100,000 PROPERTIES THROUGH NEW CONSTRUCTION, BOTH SINGLE-FAMILY AND MULTIFAMILY, REHAB, DEMOLITION AND HOME OWNERSHIP ASSISTANCE. SO TO DATE, ABOUT 69% OF THOSE ACTIVITIES HAVE BEEN COMPLETED. WE -- IT'S GREAT TO KNOW THAT THE PROGRAM ACTUALLY IS GENERATING PROGRAM INCOME, SO TO DATE, GENERATED $1.2 BILLION IN PROGRAM INCOME, SO AT THE END OF THE PROGRAM, WE HOPE THAT WE'LL BE AT A MAYBE 9 TO $10 BILLION PROGRAM, BUT EVEN WITH THAT, WE KNOW THAT WE'RE REALLY ONLY ADDRESSING OR ABLE TO HELP COMMUNITIES ADDRESS A VERY SMALL PERCENTAGE OF THESE PROPERTIES. RIGHT? AND AS PART OF THAT, WE WANTED TO BE ABLE TO MEASURE THE TYPE OF IMPACT THAT THIS INVESTMENT HAD, EVEN THOUGH AGAIN, IT'S ADDRESSING A SMALL PERCENTAGE AND I SHOULD SAY THAT THE OTHER FACTORS THAT PREVENTED COMMUNITIES FROM REALLY ADDRESSING A LARGER SCOPE OF THE PROPERTIES WAS ONE THAT WHEN THE PROGRAM WAS DEVELOPED, BECAUSE IT WAS DEVELOPED AS A RESPONSE TO THE HOUSING CRISIS AND, OF COURSE, THE NUMBER OF FORECLOSURES THAT RESULTED FROM THE CRIES, WE REALLY COULDN'T -- CRISIS, WE REALLY COULDN'T ADDRESS LONG-TERM DISTRESS. WE WERE REALLY FOCUSED ON FORECLOSED PROPERTIES AND ABANDONED PROPERTIES THAT WERE SOLD FOR FORECLOSURES. THEN THE OTHER MAJOR FACTOR IS THE COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES ARE A BIG PART OF HELPING COMMUNITIES REVITALIZE THESE AREAS, BUT AFTER NSP-1, NSP-2 AND 3 JUST FOCUSED ON RESIDENTIAL. BUT EVEN WITH THOSE LIMITATIONS, WE WANTED TO GET A SENSE OF THE IMPACT THE PROGRAM IS HAVING, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU TARGET THIS PROGRAM IN A CONCENTRATED WAY WITHIN NEIGHBORHOODS, AND SO WE HAVE CONTRACTED WITH THE REINVESTMENT FUND, WHICH I KNOW MANY OF YOU KNOW, TO MEASURE IMPACT AND WE'VE BEEN MEASURING QUARTERLY AS WE HAVE NSP COMPLETIONS, AND TO BE CLEAR, NSP COMPLETIONS FOR US MEANS THAT THE UNIT, IF IT HAS BEEN REPURPOSED, IT'S OCCUPIED, RIGHT? OF COURSE, IF THE UNIT IS DEMOLISHED, THEN THAT'S A COMPLETION, BUT IF IT'S A REHAB UNIT, REPURPOSED UNIT, THE UNIT HAS TO BE OCCUPIED FOR US TO COUNT THAT AS A COMPLETION. SO AS WE HAVE COMPLETIONS, THEY'RE MEASURING THE IMPACT IN THESE NEIGHBORHOODS BY COMPARING THEM TO COMPARABLE NEIGHBORHOODS, TO THREE OTHER COMPARABLE NEIGHBORHOODS, I SHOULD SAY, THAT DID NOT RECEIVE AN NSP INVESTMENT. SO FAR, ALTHOUGH EARLY, THE RESULTS ARE PROMISING. WE KNOW THAT MOST OF THE NEIGHBORHOODS WITH AN NSP INVESTMENT ARE OUTPERFORMING THE COMPARABLE NEIGHBORHOODS IN TERMS OF VACANCY RATES AND SALES PRICES. SO THAT'S WHERE WE'RE -- I'M VERY EXCITED TO HEAR THE STRATEGIES, ESPECIALLY GOING FORWARD, ON HOW AS NSP IS WINDING DOWN AND OUR GRANTEES ARE REALLY GOING TO, IN TERMS OF FEDERAL RESOURCES, ARE REALLY LIMITED TO NOW HOME AND CDBG AND AS YOU KNOW, THOSE ALLOCATIONS CONTINUE TO BE REDUCED, HOW THEY CAN BE SMARTER ABOUT USING THESE FUNDS AND MORE STRATEGIC. SO I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO LISTENING TO OUR PANELISTS. BUT BEFORE I INTRODUCE OUR DISTINGUISHED PANELISTS, I DID WANT TO TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE NSP TEAM, AND I THINK MANY OF THEM ARE HERE THIS AFTERNOON. BUT, OF COURSE, LET ME START WITH STAN AND JESSE COMBS, BUT I WANT TO ALSO HAVE -- ACKNOWLEDGE OUR TWO NSP TEAM LEADERS AND THAT'S JOHN LASWICH AND DEBBY NOGIERA AND THE ENTIRE NSP TEAM. MANY OF THEM ARE HERE THIS AFTERNOON AND I WOULD BE REMISS IF I DIDN'T ALSO ACKNOWLEDGE PD&R AND THE TEAM LED BY TODD RICHARDSON BECAUSE I HAVE TO SAY YOUR ASSISTANCE HAS BEEN INVALUABLE AS WE DESIGN -- AS WE DESIGNED AND IMPLEMENTED AND CONTINUE TO IMPLEMENT THE NSP PROGRAM. SO WITH THAT, LET ME INTRODUCE THE PANELISTS. I'M GOING TO INTRODUCE THEM IN THE ORDER THAT THEY WILL BE PRESENTING. SO LET ME START WITH ALAN MOWICK. HE'S A SENIOR FELLOW AT THE CENTER FOR COMMUNITY PROGRESS AND A NONRESIDENT SENIOR FELLOW AT THE METROPOLITAN POLICY PROGRAM OF THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTE IN WASHINGTON, D.C. A CITY PLANNER, ADVOCATE, AND WRITER, HE'S NATIONALLY KNOWN FOR HIS WORK ON HOUSING, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, AND URBAN AND NEIGHBORHOOD REVITALIZATION. HE WAS A VISITING SCHOLAR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA, LAS VEGAS, FOR THE 2010-2011 ACADEMIC YEAR AND CURRENTLY TEACHES IN THE GRADUATE CITY PLANNING PROGRAM AT PRATT INSTITUTE IN NEW YORK CITY. HIS RECENT BOOKS INCLUDE A DECENT HOME, PLANNING, BUILDING, PRESERVING, AND PRESERVING AFFORDABLE HOUSING, AND BRINGING BUILDINGS BACK HAVE VACANT PROPERTIES TO COMMUNITY ASSETS. WHICH HAS BECOME A REAL RESOURCE FOR THOUSANDS OF PLANNERS, LAWYERS, PUBLIC OFFICIALS, AND COMMUNITY LEADERS DEALING WITH PROBLEM PROPERTY AND REVITALIZATION ISSUES. HE IS A MEMBER OF THE COLLEGE OF FELLOWS OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF CERTIFIED PLANNERS, AND HOLDS A B.A. DEGREE FROM YALE UNIVERSITY. HE WILL BE ADDRESSING THE OVERALL PROBLEM AND HOW TO TURN THESE PROBLEMS INTO ASSETS. OUR NEXT SPEAKER WILL BE TERRY SCHWARZ. SHE'S THE DIRECTOR OF THE KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY'S CLEVELAND URBAN DESIGN COLLABORATIVE, OR CUDC. HER WORK AT CUDC INCLUDES NEIGHBORHOOD AND CAMPUS PLANNING, COMMERCIAL AND RESIDENTIAL DESIGN GUIDELINES, AND ECOLOGICAL STRATEGIESES FOR VACANT LAND REUSE. TERRY LAUNCHED THE CUDC SHRINKING CITIES INSTITUTE IN 2005 IN AN EFFORT TO UNDERSTAND AND ADDRESS THE COMPLICATIONS OF POPULATION DECLINE IN LARGE-SCALE URBAN VACANCY IN NORTHEAST OHIO. IT'S AN OUTGROWTH OF THE SHRINKING CITIES INSTITUTE, SHE TEACHES POP-UP CITY, A TEMPORARY YOUTH INITIATIVE FOR VACANT AND UNDER UTILITY ZIZEED SITES IN CLEVELAND. IN 2009, TERRY RECEIVED THE CLEVELAND ARTS PRICE FOR DESIGN. THEY TEACHES IN THE GRADUATE DESIGN CURRICULUM FOR THE KENT STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE AND ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN. SHE HAS A BACHELOR'S DEGREE IN ENGLISH FROM THE ILLINOIS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY AND A MASTERS IN CITY AND REGIONAL PLANNING FROM CORNEL UNIVERSITY. TERRY WILL BE DISCUSSING TEMPORARY USE STRATEGIES. OUR FINAL PRESENTER IS KIM GRAZIANI WHO SERVES AS VICE PRESIDENT AND DIRECTOR THE NATIONAL TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE -- I'M SORRY, DIRECTOR OF THE NATIONAL TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR THE CENTER FOR COMMUNITY PROGRESS WHERE SHE RECEIVES, COORDINATES, AND HELPS DELIVER A DIVERSE RANGE OF TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND CAPACITY-BUILDING SERVICES TO COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY. PRIOR TO JOINING THE COMMUNITY PROGRESS TEAM, KIM SERVED AS A DIRECTOR OF NEIGHBORHOOD INITIATIVES AND PROJECT DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS FOR THE MAYOR IN THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH, FOCUSED ON DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING POLICY, PROGRAMMING AND AND INITIATIVES TO BRING ABOUT NEIGHBORHOOD REVITALIZATION, SHE TARGETED INNOVATIVE STRATEGIES FOR THE PRODUCTIVE REUSE OF TAX DELINQUENT AND ABANDONED PROPERTIES. IN ADDITION TO LEADING THE CITYWIDE LAND BANK INITIATIVE, KIM WAS INSTRUMENTAL IN THE CREATION OF GREEN-UP PITTSBURGH, A BLIGHT REDUCTION PROGRAM THAT TRANSFORMED HUNDREDS OF PUBLICLY OWNED VACANT LOTS INTO PRODUCTIVE GREEN SPACES THROUGH COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP. KIM RECEIVED HER MASTER'S DEGREE IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND SOCIAL WORK FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF MISS -- PITTSBURGH WHERE SHE SERVED AS PART-TIME FACULTY. KIM IS CURRENTLY A RESIDENT OF THE CAPITOL RIVERFRONT NEIGHBORHOOD IN WASHINGTON, D.C. SHE'LL BE SPEAKING ON LAND BAKES AND LAND BANKING. FOLLOWING THE PRESENTATIONS, WE'LL OPEN THE FLOOR FOR Q&A AND WITH THAT, LET ME TURN IT OVER TO ALAN MOWICK. >> THANK YOU, YOLANDA. I'M DELIGHTED TO BE AT THE HUD FORTRESS. [ LAUGHTER ] AND I HAVE TO RUSH ON THIS BECAUSE I LEFT MY FIRST-BORN CHILD AT SECURITY. [ LAUGHTER ] THEY WEREN'T ABLE TO GET IN. HOPEFULLY THEY'RE TREATING HIM WELL. SERIOUSLY, THOUGH, I'M GOING TO TRY TO TALK ABOUT -- GIVE AN OVERVIEW OF VACANCIES, THE ISSUE, AND IF NOT THE SOLUTION, AT LEAST AN IDEA OF THE STRATEGIES THAT COMMUNITIES CAN USE TO TRY TO MOVE TOWARDS A SOLUTION, HOWEVER PARTIAL THAT MAY BE AT TIMES. I WAS ASSURED THAT IF I PRESSED THIS BUTTON ON THE RIGHT-HAND SIDE, IT WOULD RESULT IN A POWER POINT PRESENTATION COMING UP. OH, THERE WE ARE. WE'RE PRISONERS OF OUR TECHNOLOGY. OKAY. SO THIS IS ABOUT VACANT AND ABANDONED PROPERTIES, TURNING LIABILITIES INTO ASSETS. AND THE FIRST POINT, VERY GENERAL POINT, I'LL GO THROUGH THESE VERY QUICKLY, IS THAT VACANCIES ARE INCREASING AND HAVE BEEN INCREASING STEADILY OVER THE LAST, REALLY, FIVE DECADES IN THE UNITED STATES. THERE ARE UPS AND DOWNS, THEY'RE LULLS, BUT THE OVERALL TREND HAS BEEN ONE OF STEADY INCREASE IN THE NUMBER AND THE RATE OF VACANCIES IN THIS COUNTRY. AND THIS, OBVIOUSLY, THERE ARE VACANCIES AND THERE ARE VACANCIES AND THE MOST EXTREME CASES, WHICH I CALL HYPER-VACANCY ARE CLUSTERS OF AREAS WHICH WE SEE IN CITIES AND RURAL AREAS AND A GROWING NUMBER OF OLDER SUBURBS WHERE VACANCY RATES ACTUALLY EXCEED ONE-THIRD OF ALL THE PROPERTIES IN THOSE AREAS. AND THOSE ARE THE AREAS IN THE DARKEST BLUE HERE, AND SO FOR EXAMPLE, IN ST. LOUIS, THEY TEND TO BE CONCENTRATED ON THE NORTH SIDE OF ST. LOUIS AND ACROSS THE RIVER IN EAST ST. LOUIS. WHEN YOU LOOK AT PITTSBURGH, FOR EXAMPLE, WHICH IS A DIFFERENT KIND OF AREA, THERE IS SOME HYPER-VACANCY IN THE CITY, BUT YOU ALSO HAVE OUTER, OLDER INDUSTRIAL SMALL CITIES WHICH SEE THIS. IN PHOENIX, IT'S SCATTERED AND ISOLATED, BUT THERE'S STILL POCKETS, EVEN IN AN AREA LIKE PHOENIX WHICH IS, FOR THE MOST PART, A GROWING REGION AND A GROWING CITY, YOU SEE POCKETS OF EXTREME VACANCY. AND WHAT YOU SEE IN THE OLDER CITIES IN PARTICULAR, AND THIS IS REAL FOCUSED ON SOME OF THE ISSUES THAT DAN TALKED ABOUT, THAT AS THESE CITIES, CITIES LIKE DETROIT, CLEVELAND, FLINT, DAYTON, SAGINAW, HAVE BEEN STEADILY SHRINKING THEIR OVERALL HOUSING INVENTORIES OVER THE YEARS, THE NUMBER OF VACANT PROPERTIES HAS ACTUALLY BEEN GOING UP. SO INSTEAD OF THE SHRINKAGE REDUCING THE PROBLEM, THE SHRINKAGE HAS NOT CAUGHT UP WITH THE DECLINE IN DEMAND AND THE UPSHOT IS THAT THE NUMBER OF VACANT PROPERTIES CONTINUES TO INCREASE, EVEN AS THE INVENTORY SHRINKS. AND THIS IS OBVIOUSLY A CONDITION THAT REQUIRES MEASURES OTHER THAN WHAT THE PRIVATE MARKET IS CAPABLE OF TAKING CARE OF BECAUSE IF THE PRIVATE MARKET COULD HAVE, THESE PROBLEMS WOULD NOT AXIS. ESSENTIALLY -- EXIST. ESSENTIALLY, HIERN-VACANCY IS A FUNCTION, FOR THOSE ECONOMISTS IN THE ROOM, IT'S A FUNCTION OF MARKET FAILURE AND IT HAS TO BE RECOGNIZED AND ADDRESSED AS SUCH. NOW, THE OTHER THING WE KNOW THAT'S IMPORTANT IS THAT VACANCY -- ABANDONED PROPERTIES ARE NOT HARMLESS. IN FACT, THEY ARE EXTREMELY HARMFUL FOR THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY, ESPECIALLY THE NEIGHBORS. A PHILADELPHIA STUDY FOUND THAT DEPENDING ON THE NEIGHBORHOOD, THE VACANT PROPERTIES REDUCED ADJACENT PROPERTY VALUES FROM ANYTHING FROM 2% IN THE STRONGEST AREAS TO 20% IN THE WEAKEST AREAS. THE DARKEST RED ON THE MAP ARE AREAS WHERE THE LOSS IN PROPERTY VALUE IS BETWEEN 14 AND 20%. VACANT PROPERTIES ARE STRONGLY ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASED CRIME, AND THIS IS A STUDY DONE BY A PITTSBURGH RESEARCHER NAMED LYNN QUI WHO ACTUALLY ISOLATED THE EFFECTS OF FORECLOSURE FROM THE EFFECTS OF POST-FORECLOSURE VACANCY AND SHOWS HOW THE CRIME SPIKES AFTER THE PROPERTY BECOMES VACANT. NOT DURING THE FORECLOSURE PROCESS. OVERALL, THERE'S COMPELLING EVIDENCE THAT VACANT PROPERTIES REDUCE PROPERTY VALUES, INCREASE CRIME, INCREASE FIRE RISK, AND IN FACT THIS MORNING'S WASHINGTON POST WAS A RATHER BIZARRE STORY ABOUT A WAVE OF ARSONS OF VACANT PROPERTIES IN A RURAL COUNTY IN VIRGINIA. AGAIN, VACANT PROPERTIES, THEY'RE A MAGNET FOR ARSON. CITIES SPEND HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS, NEW ORLEANS SPENDS $3 MILLION A YEAR JUST MOWING AND CLEANING THE VACANT CITY-OWNED PROPERTIES. OTHER CITIES ARE IN THE SAME BALLPARK. THEY LOSE TAX REVENUES AND ULTIMATELY THEY DESTABILIZE ENTIRE NEIGHBORHOODS. I'M SURE ALL OF YOU KNOW, YOU THINK ABOUT IF YOU'RE GOING TO GO SOME PLACE AND LOOK TO BUY A HOUSE, AND YOU DRIVE DOWN THE STREET OF A NEIGHBORHOOD, YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT, YOU SEE A BOARDED-UP HOUSE, YOU KEEP DRIVING. SO -- AND JUST -- THIS IS AN EXAMPLE. I'M NOT SUGGESTING THAT VACANCIES CAUSE TAX DELINQUENCIES OR VICE VERSA, BUT IN HERE, THIS IS IN YOUNGSTOWN, REALLY POWERFUL ASSOCIATION BETWEEN VACANCIES AND TAX DELINQUENCY. AND IT'S VERY CIRCULAR. VACANT PROPERTIES DON'T PAY TAXES, PRESENCE OF VACANT PROPERTIES ENCOURAGES OTHER PEOPLE TO NOT BOTHER AND SO ON AND SO FORTH. VACANT PROPERTIES, HOWEVER, CREATE OPPORTUNITIES. THEY'RE NOT ALWAYS OPPORTUNITIES FOR REDEVELOPMENT IN THE TRADITIONAL SENSE OF BUILDINGS, NEW HOUSES, OFFICE BUILDINGS, OR FACTORIES, BUT THEY ARE OPPORTUNITIES, AND THE KEY QUESTION IS HOW DO YOU GET THERE? SO I'M GOING TO TALK VERY BRIEFLY ABOUT NINE ELEMENTS THAT I BELIEVE CAN ADD UP TO A VACANT PROPERTY STRATEGY, AND HERE THEY ARE, ALL TOGETHER, YOU CAN LOOK AT IT FOR A MINUTE, TRY TO MEMORIZE THEM. THE TEST WILL TAKE PLACE AFTERWARDS. AND I'M GOING TO TALK ABOUT EACH ONE IN TURN. OKAY, THE FIRST PART -- AND THIS WOULD SEEM TO BE SELF-EVIDENT, BUT IT'S AMAZING HOW FEW PEOPLE ACTUALLY DO THIS OR DO THIS WELL. IF YOU'RE A CITY OR A STATE OR A COUNTY OR ANYBODY TRYING TO DEAL WITH THIS, GET GOOD INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENING. HOW MANY VACANT PROPERTIES ARE THERE, WHO OWNS THEM, WHAT ARE THE MARKET CONDITIONS IN THE NEIGHBORHOODS WHERE THEY'RE LOCATED? WHAT ARE THEIR POTENTIAL VALUES? THIS WAS A -- JUST BY ILLUSTRATION, AN ANALYSIS THAT WE DID AT COMMUNITY PROGRESS IN FLINT WHERE WE TRIED TO LOOK AT THE BASIC MARKET SEGMENTATION OF THE CITY OF FLINT TO IDENTIFY WHICH AREAS HAVE STRONGER MARKETS, WHICH CREATE MORE REDEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES. SO THE FIRST THING IS JUST HAVE GOOD INFORMATION, KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON, AND HAVE THE ABILITY TO TRACK IT OVER TIME. AND ABOVE ALL, UNDERSTAND THE MARKET. DECISIONS ABOUT VACANT PROPERTIES THAT ARE MADE WITHOUT A THOROUGH UNDERSTANDING OF THE MARKET CONDITIONS IN THOSE AREAS HAVE AN 87.3% LIKELIHOOD OF BEING BAD DECISIONS. AND THAT'S A STATISTIC. THE SECOND, REGULATION. VERY FEW -- AGAIN, RELATIVELY FEW CITIES USE THEIR POWERS IN TERMS OF CODE ENFORCEMENT, NUISANCE ABASEMENT, RECEIVERSHIP AND ALL THE POWERS THAT LOCAL GOVERNMENTS HAVE IN THIS COUNTRY AS EFFECTIVE, STRATEGIC WAYS OF DEALING WITH PROBLEM PROPERTIES. AND AGAIN, THE POWERS ARE THERE. IT'S A QUESTION OF ARE YOU USING THEM STRATEGICALLY AS A WAY NOT ONLY TO DEAL WITH VACANT PROPERTIES, BUT TO INTERVENE WITH OCCUPIED PROPERTIES, ESPECIALLY ABSENTEE-OWNED PROPERTIES BEFORE THEY BECOME VACANT SO YOU CAN HOPEFULLY IN MANY CASES KEEP THEM FROM BECOMING VACANT. OR GET THE OWNERS, MOTIVATE THE OWNERS TO RESTORE THEM, BECAUSE ONE THING CITIES LIKE NEWARK, BALTIMORE AND OTHERS HAVE FOUND, IF YOU HAVE AN EFFECTIVE REGULATORY STRATEGY WITH EFFECTIVE PENALTIES AND ENFORCEMENT, WHEN YOU START USING IT, AN AWFUL LOT OF OWNERS WHO SORT OF THOUGHT THEY WERE BELOW THE RADAR UP TO THAT POINT WILL COME IN AND SAY, I'LL FIX UP MY PROPERTY, GET OFF MY BACK. SO IT WORKS. THIRD, NOT EVERYBODY IS GOING TO BE A GOOD BOY. ANY CITY THAT REALLY WANTS TO ADDRESS THESE ISSUES HAS TO KIND OF BITE THE BULLET AND RECOGNIZE THAT EVERY SO OFTEN, IT WILL HAVE TO ACQUIRE PROPERTIES, TAKE PROPERTIES INTO A PUBLIC INVENTORY IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO CONTROL THEIR FUTURE USE. AND OBVIOUSLY, YOU CAN'T TAKE EVERY PROPERTY. IF THE MAHONING COUNTY LAND BANK, WHICH IS YOUNGSTOWN, TOOK EVERY PROPERTY THEY COULD LEGALLY ACQUIRE TOMORROW IN THE CITY OF YOUNGSTOWN, THEY WOULD END UP OWNING ONE THIRD OF ALL THE PROPERTIES IN THE CITY. CLEARLY, THAT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE, YOU CAN'T DO THAT, BUT THERE ARE PROPERTIES THEY SHOULD BE ACQUIRING. THEY NEED TO HAVE A STRATEGY, NEED TO USE THE TOOLS THAT GOD AND THEIR RESPECTIVE STATE LEGISLATURES HAVE GIVEN THEM TO ACQUIRE PROPERTIES. FOURTH, AND KIM WILL GO INTO THIS IN GREATER DETAIL, BUT IF YOU'RE GOING TO ACQUIRE PROPERTIES, YOU'VE GOT TO BE ABLE TO MAINTAIN THEM SO THAT YOU ARE NOT -- THE LAST THING ANY CITY OR COUNTY WANTS TO BE IS THEIR RESPECTIVE COMMUNITIES LARGEST AND MOST NOTORIOUS SLUM LORD. YOU HAVE TO BECOME A RESPONSIBLE STEWARD OF THE PROPERTIES AND YOU HAVE TO HAVE RESPONSIBLE, TRANSPARENT WAYS OF DISPOSING OF THEM SO THEY'RE REUSED IN THE WAY THAT BEST BENEFITS THE COMMUNITY. FIFTH, WORK WITH DEVELOPERS. ULTIMATELY, THE PEOPLE WHO ARE GOING TO REBUILD CITIES ARE DEVELOPERS. THAT'S WHAT THEY'RE THERE FOR. BUT CITIES HAVE TO UNDERSTAND, JUST LIKE DAN MENTIONED IN THE LAST ANSWER, IF THEY DON'T CREATE THE CLIMATE THAT MAKES IT WORTH THE DEVELOPER'S WHILE TO INVEST, TO BUILD, TO MAKE STUFF HAPPEN, TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF SOME OF THE GROWING DEMAND, WHICH I THINK IS ALREADY THERE IN MANY CITIES, YOU KNOW, THE CITIES WILL STILL CONTINUE TO FALL BY THE WAYSIDE, AND THAT INCLUDES KNOWING HOW TO USE PUBLIC DOLLARS, PUBLIC RESOURCES LIKE TAX ABATEMENTS, LIKE INCENTIVES AND SO FORTH, INTELLIGENTLY TO GENERATE REVITALIZATION. SIXTH, THIS IS ONE, I KNOW NOT EVERYBODY AGREES WITH THIS ONE. I HAPPEN TO BELIEVE, AND I HAPPEN TO BELIEVE THAT THE RESEARCH EVIDENCE ON THIS POINT IS SOLID, UNEQUIVOCAL, AND INDISPUTABLE, CONTRARY TO WHAT SOME OF MY COLLEAGUES BELIEVE, THAT HOME OWNERSHIP, A HIGH LEVEL OF HOME OWNERSHIP IS CRITICAL TO THE LONG-TERM VIABILITY OF ANY SINGLE-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL COMMUNITY AND, AGAIN, SINGLE-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL COMMUNITIES MAKE UP 80 TO 90% OF THE STRUCTURES IN VIRTUALLY EVERY AMERICAN CITY WITH THE EXCEPTION OF NEW YORK CITY AND MAYBE SAN FRANCISCO. IF THE CITY DOES NOT HAVE A STRATEGY TO ENCOURAGE HOME OWNERSHIP, THE CITY'S NEIGHBORHOODS ARE GOING TO FALL FURTHER AND FURTHER BEHIND AS PROPERTIES ARE ACQUIRED BY ABSENTEE OWNERS AND START TO FALL INTO A CYCLE, ESPECIALLY IN WEAK MARKET COMMUNITIES, OF ACQUISITION, MILKING, AND ABANDONMENT. HOME OWNERSHIP IS A CRITICAL PIECE. SEVEN, DEMOLITION, UNFORTUNATELY, IS ALSO A CRITICAL PIECE. IT'S PAINFUL TEARING DOWN BUILDINGS, IT HURTS, BUT WHEN YOU HAVE A NET SURPLUS OF VACANT PROPERTIES, YOU HAVE TO TEAR DOWN BUILDINGS. THE QUESTION IS ARE YOU DOING IT STRATEGICALLY IN TERMS OF HAVING LONG-TERM PLANS FOR HOW THAT'S GOING TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE COMMUNITY, OR ARE YOU JUST KNOCKING BUILDINGS DOWN BECAUSE YOU GET A KICK OUT OF IT? OR YOU HAVE THE MONEY TO DO SO. AND ONE THING, WHEN I SEE -- ASK CITIES HOW THEY PRIORITIZE DEMOLITIONS AND SOMEBODY SAYS WE CREATE A LIST OF THE 100 WORST BUILDINGS OR THE TEN WORST BUILDINGS, I SAY THAT'S NOT A STRATEGY. THAT'S AN EXCUSE. SO -- AND THE OTHER THING, WHEN YOU DEMOLISH BUILDINGS, YOU'RE CREATING VACANT LOTS, AND WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH A VACANT LOT? HOUROR GOING TO MAKE SURE -- HOW ARE YOU GOING TO MAKE SURE THEY DON'T BECOME DUMPING GROUNDS. EIGHT, NOT ALL BUILDINGS -- NOT ALL PROPERTIES, NOT ALL VACANT LOTS, VACANT BUILDINGS ARE GOING TO BE REDEVELOPED. A LOT OR NOT. DETROIT HAS OVER 100,000 VACANT LOTS. WITHIN OUR LIFETIMES AND THE LIFETIME OF THE YOUNGEST PERSON IN THIS ROOM, MOST OF THOSE LOTS ARE NOT GOING TO BE THE SUBJECT OF NEW BUILDINGS. THERE SIMPLY IS NOT THE DEMAND FOR THAT. THERE HAS TO BE ALTERNATIVE USES, AND THOSE HAVE TO BE THOUGHT THROUGH CAREFULLY, WHETHER IT COMMUNITY GARDENS, WHETHER IT'S A STRATEGY FOR STORM WATER MANAGEMENT, WHETHER IT'S OPEN SPACES, WHATEVER THE STRATEGY, ANY CITY WITH A SURPLUS OF PROPERTIES AND WEAK DEMAND MUST HAVE A STRATEGY FOR GREEN REUSE. AND MUST RECOGNIZE THAT GREEN REUSES IN SOME CASES MAY BE TEMPORARY OR SHORT-TERM, BUT NOT ALWAYS. THAT GREEN REUSE, WHETHER IT'S FIELDS, FORESTS, OPEN SPACE OR WHAT HAVE YOU, IS GOING TO BE PART OF THE FABRIC, THE LONG-TERM FUTURE FABRIC OF MANY AMERICAN CITIES. AND FINALLY, COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS. SOME CITY GOVERNMENTS THINK THEY CAN DO THIS ALL BY THEMSELVES. WELL, THERE'S A SIMPLE ANSWER TO THAT. THEY CAN'T. CITY GOVERNMENTS, DEVELOPERS, CDCs, NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS, EVERYBODY HAS TO BE PART OF THE SOLUTION. AND IF YOU DO THESE NINE THINGS AND YOU DO THESE THINGS SUCCESSFULLY, I TRULY BELIEVE -- AND THERE ARE PLENTY -- THERE'S PLENTY OF EVIDENCE. YOU GO TO CITIES LIKE NEW ORLEANS, DETROIT, PHILADELPHIA, AND YOU CAN SEE THAT THEY ARE GETTING A HANDLE ON THESE ISSUES. THEY ARE SOLVING THEM. IT IS POSSIBLE. THANK YOU. [ APPLAUSE ] >> I'M TERRY SCHWARZ, FROM THE KENT STATE CLEVELAND URBAN ZLINE COLLABORATIVE -- DESIGN COLLABORATIVE AND THIS IS US. WE'RE HERE IN DOWNTOWN CLEVELAND. WE'RE THE OUTREACH DIVISION FOR THE COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE AT KENT STATE AND I ONLY TELL YOU THIS TO MAKE SURE I'M CLEAR. I'M NOT A POLICY PERSON, I'M A PRACTITIONER AND OUR ORGANIZATION WAS CREATED TO SERVE THE NEEDS OF CITIES AND SUBURBS AND TOWNSHIPS THROUGHOUT NORTHEAST OHIO. AND IF YOU'RE NOT THAT FAMILIAR WITH OHIO, I CAN JUST POINT OUT THAT MANY OF MR. CANE'S MAPS, WE WERE IN BROWN, SO WE HAVEN'T QUITE GOTTEN THROUGH THE, THE DOWNTURN THE WAY THAT OTHER CITIES AND OTHER REGIONS AROUND THE COUNTRY HAVE. SO VACANCY IS SOMETHING THAT WE CONTINUE TO STRUGGLE WITH, AND I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, THIS DIAGRAM KIND OF ENCAPSULATES IT. WE HAVE FEWER PEOPLE AROUND, YOU KNOW, KIND OF INHABITING THE SAME SIZE, ACTUALLY GROWING URBAN FOOTPRINT, SO IT'S JUST SORT OF THINNING OUT THE CITY. YOU KNOW, THE DISPERSION OF PEOPLE AND RESOURCES IN OUR REGION IS SIGNIFICANT AND IT CREATES PROBLEMS, AS YOU MIGHT IMAGINE. I MEAN, IT CREATES PROBLEMS IN TERMS OF HOUSING MARKET DEMAND, IT CREATES PROBLEMS IN TERMS OF INFRASTRUCTURE MAINTENANCE AND DELIVERY OF TRANSIT SERVICES AND OTHER KINDS OF CIVIC SERVICES, SO THIS KIND OF IDEA, FEWER PEOPLE OVER A BIGGER AND BIGGER FOOTPRINT, IS SOMETHING THAT KIND OF UNDERSCORES THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE WORK THAT WE DO AT MY ORGANIZATION. SO WE'RE IN A NONPROFIT PLANNING AND URBAN DESIGN FIRM. WE ACTUALLY HAVE BOOTS ON THE GROUND IN THE COMMUNITIES THAT WE SERVE. WE EMBARK ON PLANNING AND DESIGN PROJECTS AT THE BEHEST OF MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENTS AND NONPROFITS. SO MY TASK TODAY IS TO TALK ABOUT TEMPORARY USE STRATEGIES AND I THOUGHT I WOULD TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE WAYS THAT WE THINK ABOUT TEMPORARY USE IN TERMS OF HOUSING. FOR THE MOST PART, A LOT OF OUR TEMPORARY PROJECTS ARE ACTUALLY VACANT PARCELS AND COMMERCIAL OR INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS, BUT I FIGURED SINCE I WAS AT HUD, I SHOULD SHOW A LITTLE HOUSING, SO IN A CITY LIKE CLEVELAND OR YOUNGSTOWN OR AKRON OR TOLEDO, REALLY FAME YOUR CITY IN OHIO -- NAME YOUR CITY IN OHIO, ASIDE FROM COLUMBUS, EVERY MAJOR CITY IN OHIO IS LOSING POPULATION AT A RATHER SIGNIFICANT RATE. SO IN A CITY LIKE THIS, HOUSING IS TO SOME EXTENT DISPOSABLE, AND SO WHEN I THINK ABOUT THE WAY THAT WE CONSIDER TEMPORARY USES FOR VACANT HOUSES, IT'S A LITTLE LIKE THIS. OH, YOU'RE GOING TO THROW THAT AWAY? COULD WE USE THAT? AND WE FIND THAT THE CITIES THAT WE WORK WITH ARE VERY KIND OF OPEN TO EXPERIMENTATION, BECAUSE AS I SAID, IN A CITY WITH A WEAK MARKET AND REAL SURPLUS OF HOUSING, THERE IS ROOM FOR EXPLORATION AND EXPERIMENTATION, SO THIS IS A PROJECT WE DID IN 2009 WITH AN ARTIST, MARTIN PAPSON WHO CAME TO CLEVELAND REALLY IN THE DARKEST PART OF THE FORECLOSURE CRISIS AND WANTED TO TURN A HOUSE INSIDE OUT, SO THIS HOUSE WAS CIRCULATED FOR -- SLATED FOR DEMOLITION AND MARTIN AND HIS CREW SLICED THE WALLS OFF AND FLIPPED IT SO THAT THE OUTSIDE WAS IN AND THE INSIDE WAS OUT. AND YOU MIGHT KIND OF WONDER WHAT THE POINT OF THAT WAS. I THINK TO A LARGE EXTENT, WHAT IT DID WAS GENERATE A COMMUNITY CONVERSATION ABOUT THIS TRANSITION THAT WAS UNDERWAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD. SHORTLY AFTER THIS HOUSE WAS INSIDE-OUT AND I'LL TELL YOU, IT WASN'T AN EASY THING TO DO, THE CITY THEN CAME AND DEMOLISHED THE HOUSE, BUT LET ME SHOW YOU ONE THAT MAYBE IS A LITTLE BIT MORE AROUND A PRAGMATIC USE. I MEAN F YOU'VE GOT THIS DISPOSABLE HOUSING STOCK, YOU TRY TO FIND SOME VALUE IN WHAT REMAINS. SO THIS IS A PROJECT WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS. THE NOTION THAT WHEN YOU DEMOLISH A HOUSE, IT MIGHT BE POSSIBLE TO RETAIN AT LEAST PART OF IT. THE FOUNDATION, THIS KIND OF THERMAL BOX IN THE GROUND, AND USE IT TO EXTEND THE GROWING SEASON, FOR INSTANCE, FOR THE CITY'S URBAN AGRICULTURE EFFORTS AND SO THE WAY THAT IT WOULD WORK IS SIMPLY THAT THE HOUSE IS DECONSTRUCTED RATHER THAN DEMOLISHED AND FIT WITH A SOLAR ENVELOPE TO ALLOW A LONGER GROWING SEASON. WE HAVE THE FIRST ONE UNDER CONSTRUCTION AND I'LL TELL YOU THAT IT'S MORE DIFFICULT AND MORE EXPENSIVE THAN, YOU KNOW, YOU MIGHT IMAGINE, MORE THAN WE MIGHT IMAGINE. WE'RE GOING TO -- OUR PARTNER MAN'SFIELD FRAZIER IN ACTUALLY ADVANCING THE PROJECT AND WE'RE GOING TO STUDY WHAT HE DID JUST TO SEE IF THERE IS REP APPLICABILITY. THE JURY IS DEFINITELY OUT, IT'S A DIFFICULT THING TO DO. YOU GET THE EXTENDED SEASON BECAUSE OF THE THERMAL CAPACITY OF THE MASONRY WALL IN THE GROUND. THIS IS ANOTHER PROJECT, AGAIN AROUND THIS IDEA THAT THESE HOUSES ARE JUST BEING THROWN AWAY AND SOME OF THEM JUST SEEM TOO GOOD TO THROW AWAY, SO WE GOT THIS ONE THROUGH A COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION PARTNERSHIP. IT'S A TWO-FAMILY HOUSE, AND NO ONE WANTS IT, AND SO WE HAVE A REALLY SMALL CONSTRUCTION BUDGET OF ABOUT $20,000, AND ALSO 12 UNDERGRADUATES WITH HAMMERS, AND THEY ARE WORKING ON DESIGN IDEAS RIGHT NOW TO SEE IF THERE ARE LOW-COST KIND OF DESIGN ON A DIME WAYS OF NOT ONLY REHABBING THE HOUSE, BUT FINDING A WAY TO RESTORE SOME SENSE OF MARKET DEMAND. YOU KNOW, IS THERE A WAY TO MAKE THIS HOUSE DESIRABLE AGAIN? I MEAN, IT'S A MASONRY HOUSE, STRUCTURALLY SOUND, BEAUTIFULLY PROPORTIONED, IT HAS -- THERE'S VALUE THERE, BUT SOMETIMES THROUGH THAT DESIGN LENS, WE CAN HOPEFULLY ENGAGE COMMUNITIES IN UNDERSTANDING KIND OF WHAT THE POTENTIAL, GET THEM TO LOOK AT THE HOUSES AGAIN TO SEE IF THERE'S A WAY WE CAN SAVE SOME OF THESE. I SHOULD SOME POINT OUT THAT IN CLEVELAND, USUALLY BETWEEN A STHOU AND 1500 HOUSES A YEAR ARE DEMOLISHED, SO OUR ONE LITTLE HOUSE IS A PEBBLE IN THE OCEAN, BUT WE'RE GOING TO BE DOING TEMPORARY PROGRAMMING AT THE HOUSE ALL SUMMER LONG WHILE IT'S UNDER CONSTRUCTION, SO WE CAN SHARE WITH NEIGHBORS. WE'RE GOING TO STAGE THE HOUSE IN DIFFERENT WAYS, AGAIN WITH THE HOPE OF GETTING PEOPLE TO LOOK AT THESE PROPERTIES WITH A FRESH SET OF EYES. SO THE THREE THINGS THAT I REALLY JUST WANTED TO TOUCH ON TODAY, WHEN YOU GOOGLE THE PHRASE TEMPORARY EMPLOYEE, YOU GET THIS -- THIS BECAME PART OF MY PRESENTATION. YOU KNOW, IT'S A LITTLE BIT OF A METAPHOR IN THE SENSE THAT TEMPORARY EMPLOYEES TEND TO BE UNDERVALUED, BUT IN TIMES OF TRANSITION AND UNCERTAIN, THEY CAN BE REALLY VALUABLE AND I WOULD SAY THE SAME THING IS TRUE FOR TEMPORARY USE. IN CITIES WHERE WE REALLY DON'T KNOW WHAT'S COMING NEXT AND THAT REALLY EMBODIES A LOT OF CITIES IN OHIO, TEMPORARY STRATEGIES ARE A WAY TO SORT OF EASE THROUGH A TRANSITION AND REALLY BEGIN TO TRY TO UNDERSTAND NEW WAYS OF THINKING ABOUT THE SITUATION AT HAND. SO I'M GOING TO TALK ABOUT THESE SORT OF THREE AREAS STARTING WITH THE NOTION OF KIND OF HIGHLIGHTING SOME OF THE OBJECTS, SOME OF THE VACANT PROPERTIES IN OUR MIDST. WHEN YOU LIVE IN A CITY FOR A LONG TIME, YOU STOP NOTICING CERTAIN THINGS AND BUT IF YOU JUST OPEN YOUR EYES AND LOOK AROUND, I NOTICE THAT TODAY COMING IN ON THE TRAIN FROM BALTIMORE, YOU GET THESE GLIMPSES OF THINGS AND SO WHAT WE TRY TO DO WITH SOME OF OUR TEMPORARY PROJECTS IS JUST GET PEOPLE TO LOOK AGAIN AT THE, YOU KNOW, THE OBJECTS AND THE PHYSICAL FABRIC THAT REMAINS IN THE CITY. BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, MILLIONS OF PEOPLE HAVE LIVED IN THESE CITIES FOR HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS OF YEARS, AND YOU KNOW, THEY LEAVE THINGS BEHIND. AND WHAT CAN WE, WITH THESE REMNANTS OF THE CITY, REALLY BEGIN TO EXPLORE AND REINVENT? AND THAT REINVENTION PART IS IMPORTANT. NOTICING IS STEP ONE, BUT THINKING ABOUT WAYS TO USE THE OBJECTS IN OUR MIDST FOR PRODUCTIVE USES, SO THIS IS A BUILD -- WELL, NOT ENTIRELY A BUILDING. IT'S WHAT REMAINS OF A BUILDING ON SUPERIOR AVENUE IN CLEVELAND AND WE'RE WORKING WITH COMMUNITY PARTNERS TO SEE IF WE CAN TRANSFORM IT TO AN EVENT VENUE. I'M NOT SURE WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO DO THIS. IT IS CONDEMNED, AND SO WE'RE WORKING THROUGH THE PROCESS, BUT WE -- THIS ISN'T SORT OF A ONE OF A KIND THING. IN CLEVELAND, IN YOUNGSTOWN, YOU KNOW, IN CITIES, YOU FIND THESE KINDS OF OBJECTS AND ARE THERE WAYS, AGAIN, WE CAN USE DESIGN TO KIND OF RETHINK THEM. AND TO BRING PEOPLE TO THEM. THE SECOND ONE IS ABOUT PROMOTING A REAL ESTATE AGENDA. NORMALLY NONE PROFITS ARE SUPPOSED TO BE THE ENEMY OF THE DEVELOP YES, BUT WE DON'T FEEL THAT WAYS ABOUT DEVELOPMENT IS HARD IN A WEAK MARKET CITY AND SO TEMPORARY PROJECTS CAN ACTUALLY SET THE STAGE FOR DEVELOPMENT, AND ALSO GET OVERLOOKED PROPERTIES KIND OF NOTICED AND THEN HOPEFULLY PERMANENT DEVELOPMENT FOLLOWS. SO THIS WAS BACK IN 2007. OUR VERY FIRST POP-UP SHOP. I FEEL NOSTALGIC SEEING IT. EVERYBODY DOES POP-UP SHOPS NOW, BUT BACK IN 2007 AND ESPECIALLY IN CLEVELAND, THIS WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS KIND OF NEW. WE DON'T DO POP-UP SHOPS MUCH ANYMORE BECAUSE AT THIS POINT, SO MANY OTHER PEOPLE ARE DOING THEM THAT WE FEEL LIKE JOB DONE, YOU KNOW, MY STAFF IS FIVE PEOPLE AND SO IF WE CAN ENGAGE THE COMMUNITY IN THIS WORK, SO MUCH THE BETTER. SO THIS IS OUR POP-UP SHOP RIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS IN 2007, AND EVENTUALLY IT GAVE WAY TO THIS FANCY RESTAURANT IN THE SAME LOCATION. HERE'S ANOTHER, WE WERE MOVING INTO A NEW FACILITY IN PLAYHOUSE SQUARE IN CLEVELAND AND SO WE LOOKED AT THE DOWNSTAIRS STORE FRONT THAT WE WEREN'T GOING TONIGHT HABIT WITH OUR OFFICES AND WE ASKED OUR LANDLORD IF WE COULD BORROW IT TO A USE WE THOUGHT WOULD BE NICE, A TEMPORARY RESTAURANT, KIND OF THE OLD PONDEROSA CONCEPT, HENCE THE HORSE, BUT EVENTUALLY IT BECAME A REAL RESTAURANT. ONE LAST ONE I'LL SHOW YOU. WE WORKED WITH A GROUP OF YOUNG PROFESSIONALS WHO WANTS TO TURN THIS INDUSTRIAL BUILDING INTO A ROLLER SKATING RINK FOR A NIGHT, AND IT BECAME, NOT A FANCY RESTAURANT, IT BECAME A FANCY PARTY CENTER. AND I MEAN, I'M NOT SUGGESTING TO YOU THAT OUR LITTLE POP-UP PROJECTS DIRECTLY LED TO THESE PERMANENT DEVELOPMENTS. THEY DIDN'T, BUT AT LEAST IT SORT OF NUDGES THE MARKET IN THAT DIRECTION. BRINGS PEOPLE INTO A PROPERTY THAT THEY MIGHT NEVER HAVE CONSIDERED AND EVENTUALLY SOMETHING BEGINS TO HAPPEN. ONE LAST ONE I WANT TO SHOW YOU ON THIS REAL ESTATE THING IS THAT THIS IS THE FLATTS IN CLEVELAND. WHEN I MOVED TO CLEVELAND IN 1990, THIS WAS THE ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICT FOR THE CITY. IT WAS A VERY DYNAMIC PLACE, BUT THEN IT FELL APART, SO AROUND 2008, THERE WAS A DEVELOPMENT PROPOSAL TO REINVENT PART OF THIS FLATS AREA IN ORDER TO HAVE A NEW MIXED USE DEVELOPMENT. SO WE ASKED THE DEVELOPER IF WE COULD BORROW THE SITE AHEAD OF TIME JUST TO GET PEOPLE READY AND THINKING ABOUT COMING BACK TO THE FLATS, BUT HERE'S THE SITE, HERE'S OUR PROPOSAL, AND IT INVOLVED TEMPORARY LANDSCAPING AND BONFIRES AND SKATING AND SNOWBOARDING. LOOKED KIND OF LIKE THIS, SO PEOPLE CAME IN THE DEAD OF WINTER. LATE NIGHT, IT WAS FEBRUARY 29th. WE DID THAT BECAUSE BULLDOZERS WERE SUPPOSED TO ROLL IN MARCH OF 2008. SO FEBRUARY 29th WAS THE LAST DAY WE COULD USE THE SITE, SO THIS IS WHAT WE DID. BUT THEN, YOU MAY ALL REMEMBER 2008, THE ECONOMY WAS NOT IN A REALLY GOOD PLACE AND THAT DEVELOPMENT ACTUALLY TOOK AN ADDITIONAL FOUR YEARS. THIS WAS, WHAT YOU SEE ON THE LEFT, THE FULL DEVELOPMENT PROPOSAL, BUT IT'S THE RIGHT, WHAT WE GOT AROUND 2012, 2013, JUST PHASE ONE, AND PHASE TWO IS BEGINNING NOW IN 2014. MY POINT BEING THAT DEVELOPMENT TAKES A LONG TIME IN A WEAK MARKET CITY AND TEMPORARY USES ARE A WAY TO SORT OF KINDLE THE ENERGY AND BRING SOME ATTENTION TO THESE PROJECTS, JUST TO HELP THE DEVELOPMENT IN A VERY SMALL WAY, YOU KNOW, KIND OF NUDGE TOWARDS SUCCESS. MY LAST TOPIC IS REALLY ON THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT SIDE. TEMPORARY USE, WE DISCOVERED, IS ONE OF THE BEST TOOLS WE'VE EVER HAD FOR ENGAGING COMMUNITIES BECAUSE PEOPLE CAN RESPOND TO DRAWINGS, BUT THEY CAN REALLY UNDERSTAND PLACES. SO THIS IS A PROJECT WE WERE DOING IN AK CONWITH VACANT LAND -- AKRON WITH VACANT LAND, TALKING WITH PEOPLE ABOUT WHAT THEY WANTED TO SEE ON SOME OF SITES, ALSO THINKING ABOUT HOW THEY COULD TRANSFORM IN WINTER, BECAUSE WE'RE COLD PLACES, AND KIND OF UNDERSTANDING A FULL SEASON SPECTRUM FOR VACANT LAND REUSE IS REALLY IMPORTANT. BUT, YOU KNOW, KIND OF ACTUALLY BEING ABLE TO CREATE ACTIVITY ON SITE, BRINGING PEOPLE TO THE PLACE, AND THEN INVOLVING THEM IN THE DESIGN DECISIONS THROUGH TEMPORARY INSTALLATION IS REALLY KIND OF A KEY COMPONENT OF OUR DESIGN PRACTICE. THIS IS A BRIDGE. I KNOW IT'S NOT TRADITIONAL VACANT PROPERTY, BUT IT'S A TWO-STORY BRIDGE. IT'S BEEN VACANT SINCE THE 1950s. IT USED TO BE USED FOR TRANSIT, BUT THE LINE WAS DISCONTINUED AND IT'S BEEN VACANT EVER SINCE. WE USED OUR STUDENTS TO COME UP WITH DESIGN IDEAS. THE COUNTY LET US BORROW THE BRIDGE AND BUILD SOME OF THOSE THINGS. WE OPENED THE DOORS, 8,000 PEOPLE SHOWED UP, MUCH TO OUR SURPRISE, AND WE WERE ABLE TO SORT OF WATCH HOW THEY USED THE SPACE AND OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS, WE'RE CONTINUED TO PROGRAM THE PLACE. WE'VE STRUCK A BIKE LINE ACROSS IT WITH DUCT TAPE. WE'VE HAD ART MANY PROGRAMMING ON THE BRIDGE, RETAIL ON THE BRIDGE. WHEN TEMPORARY USE GOES FROM BEING AN EVENT TO RESEARCH IS THIS, YOU COLLECT DATA. YOU WATCH WAS PEOPLE DO AND YOU AGGREGATE AND THE LESSONS THAT YOU LEARN, SO WHEN IT DOES COME TIME TO MAKE THOSE PERMANENT INVESTMENTS IN THE SPACE, THAT YOU DO SO WITH THE KNOWLEDGE OF HOW PEOPLE ACTUALLY USE IT. ONE LAST THING I JUST WANT TO SHOW YOU AND THEN I'LL END. THIS IS A PROJECT THAT WE'RE JUST WORKING ON NOW, 2100 LAKE SIDE IS THE LARGEST MEN'S HOMELESS SHELTER IN THE STATE OF OHIO AND THE BUILDING RIGHT NEXT, THE EDGE OF THE SCREEN, THE COUNTY LAND BANK JUST DEMOLISHED IT AND GAVE THE LOT TO THE HOMELESS SHELTER AND THEIR ADMINISTRATION FOR REDEVELOPMENT AS A PARK FACE. WE CAN GO BACK TO OUR OFFICE AND DESIGN SOMETHING UP, BUT WE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE BETTER TO ENGAGE THE YEARS OF 2100 LAKE SIDE AND THE PEOPLE WHO ACTUALLY INHABIT THE SPACE AND WHEN YOU WORK WITH PEOPLE WHO ARE HOMELESS, THEY'RE NOT USED TO HAVING THEIR OPINIONS ASKED, AND SO WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO OVER THE COURSE OF THE NEXT FOUR MONTHS IS TO CREATE A LANDSCAPE, CO-SECRETARY A LANDSCAPE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH -- COCREATE A LANDSCAPE WITH THE MEN WHO LIVE AT 2100 AND CHANGE IT AROUND. TALK TO THEM ABOUT HOW IT'S WORKING, WHERE THE SEATING SHOULD BE, WHERE THE LANDSCAPING SHOULD BE, WHERE THE SMOKING AREA SHOULD BE AND ADAPT IT TO WHAT THEY TELL US SO AT THE END OF THE PROCESS, WE'LL BE ABLE TO PUT TOGETHER A PLAN BASED ON THE INPUT WE RECEIVED IN WORKING WITH THEM ON A TEMPORARY INSTALLATIONS. WE DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT IT'S GOING TO BE YET, BUT WE'VE GOT OVER, YOU KNOW, MANY YEARS OF DOING POP-UP PROJECTS, ME OFFICE IS CRAZY WITH ROLLS OF TURF GRASS AND HAMMOCKS, SO WE'RE GOING TO HAUL IT OUT THERE AND WORK WITH THEM ONSITE TO REDESIGN THE PACE FOR WHAT THEY NEED. I'M GOING TO STOP THERE AND IF YOU FIND YOURSELF IN CLEVELAND, WE MOVE VISITORS. YOU CAN COME VISIT OUR DESIGN BUILD HOUSE, HELP US BUILD THE GAERGET AT 2100 THIS SUMMER. YOU CAN ALSO VISIT OUR WEBSITE WHERE YOU CAN DOWNLOAD ALL OUR PUBLICATIONS AND SUCH. SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH. [ APPLAUSE ] >> WELL, IS EVERYONE STILL AWAKE? I JUST HAVE TO START BY SAYING HOW UTTERLY STRANGE IT IS TO BE STANDING HERE TALKING ABOUT LAND BANKING ON A PANEL WITH SOMEONE WHO INTRODUCED ME TO LAND BANKING, NOW CONGRESSMAN DAN KILDEY. IT'S A PLEASURE TO BE WITH YOU TODAY. I SERVE AS THE DIRECTOR FOR NATIONAL AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR THE CENTER FOR COMMUNITY PROGRESS. WE'RE A NATIONAL NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION THAT THE SOLELY FOCUSED ON EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TODAY, AND THAT IS THE PREVENTION, ACQUISITION, MAINTENANCE, AND REUSE OF VACANT, ABANDONED, PROBLEM PROPERTIES. NOT AN EASY TASK, BUT DEFINITELY A VERY WORTHWHILE AND REWARDING TASK. SO WE'VE HEARD A LITTLE BIT FROM OUR PREVIOUS PANELISTS ABOUT THE COSTS OF VACANCY AND ABANDONMENT, WHICH IS WHY WE'RE HERE TODAY AND WHY WE DO THE WORK WE DO EVERY DAY, OR AT LEAST THE REASON I AND PIE COLLEAGUES DO THE WORK WE DO EACH AND EVERY DAY. I JUST WANT TO SUMMARIZE, THE WAY I THINK ABOUT THE COSTS OF VACANCY AND ABANDONMENT ARE REALLY IN SORT OF THREE BUCKETS AND THE FIRST BUCKET REALLY RELATES TO THE COST, DIRECT COSTS TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT, THAT LOCAL GOVERNMENTS ACTUALLY PAY OUT IN TERMS OF BOARDING THE PROPERTIES, THE PICTURE YOU SEE ON THE SLIDE, POTENTIALLY DEMOLISHING A PROPERTY, PUBLIC SAFETY CALLS, THE FIRE CALLS, THE POLICE CALLS, ALL OF THOSE CALLS COST AN INCREDIBLE AMOUNT OF MONEY OF SENDING STAFF, EMERGENCY RESPONDERS OUT TO RESPOND TO THESE PROBLEMS. THE SECOND CATEGORY, WHICH IS SO HUGE AND FACING SO MANY LOCAL GOVERNMENTS ACROSS THE COUNTRY IS THE LOSS OF TAX REVENUE, RIGHT? WHAT LOCAL GOVERNMENT IS NOT DEPENDENT ON LOCAL TAX REVENUE? AND ITS IT'S CURRENT, SO THOSE PROPERTIES THAT ARE OFF THE TAX ROLES, WHETHER IN LIMBO OR PUBLICLY OWNED AND NOT PAYING TAX MANY, THAT HAS A HUGE IMPACT ON LOCAL GOVERNMENTS, AS WELL AS FUTURE REVENUE. WE'VE SEEN IN THE REPORT, WHICH BY THE WAY IS BY FAR MY FAVORITE REPORT THAT HAS COME OUT IN I CAN'T TELL YOU HOW LONG, THE COST OF PROPERTY VALUES GO DOWN, PEOPLE DO NOT WANT TO BUY A PROPERTY IN THESE PLACES WHEN PROPERTY VALUES GO DOWN, OBVIOUSLY THE REVENUE FROM PROPERTY TAXES ALSO GOES DOWN. AND THE THIRD BUCKET IS REALLY THE COMMUNITY PSYCHE, AND THIS TO ME CAN'T BE MORE DAMAGING. THE FEAR, THE DEPRESSION, THE ANXIETY, THE FACT THAT PEOPLE ARE WALKING DOWN THE STREETS A FEELING LIKE THEIR CITY AND THEIR ELECTED LEADERSHIP DOESN'T CARE ABOUT THEM OR THEIR COMMUNITY. SO WE HAVE THIS WONDERFUL TOOL CALLED LAND BANKS, AND THIS IS ONE TOOL TO REALLY DEAL WITH THOSE COSTS AND IMPACTS OF VACANCY AND ABANDONMENT, AND IN ESSENCE, A LAND BANK IS A PUBLIC ENTITY, USUALLY A NONPROFIT OR A PUBLIC AUTHORITY, THAT IS SOLELY FOCUSED ON CONVERTING THOSE PROPERTIES THAT ARE VACANT, ABANDONED, AND TAX DELINQUENT, BACK INTO PRODUCTIVE REUSE. AND I JUST REALLY WANT TO DRAW YOU TO THOSE THREE WORDS, WHICH IS VACANT, ABANDONED, AND TAX DELINQUENT. THOSE ARE LIABILITIES. A LAND BANK ACQUIRES THOSE TYPES OF PROPERTIES, ELIMINATES THEM THROUGH A VARIETY OF WAYS, WHICH WE'LL TALK ABOUT, AND ACTUALLY PUTS THEM BACK INTO PRODUCTIVE REUSE. SO QUICK HISTORY LESSON IF YOU'RE NOT TIRED ALREADY. THIS IS REALLY GOING TO LIVEN THINGS UP. SO WE'VE DONE LAND BANKING FOR OVER 40 YEARS NOW. AND I WOULD SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, TO TALK ABOUT THIS AND I'M SURE CONGRESSMAN COULD TALK ABOUT THIS ALL AFTERNOON AS WELL, BUT REALLY, WHAT WE'VE SEEN IS OVER THE PAST 40 YEARS, SOME REALLY INTERESTING EVOLUTION, SO LAND BANKS IN THE '70s THAT HAVE REALLY, I WOULD SAY, ARE CONSIDERED PASSIVE PUBLIC ENTITIES THAT REALLY DIDN'T HAVE VERY ADEQUATE POWERS TO REALLY SORT OF TAKE USUALLY UNDER-WATER PROPERTIES, THAT TAX DELINQUENCY, REPOLICE OFFICER IT AND PUT IT BACK -- REMOVE IT AND PUT IT BACK ON THE PUBLIC TAX ROLLS, SO NOW WHAT WE'VE SEEN, AND MAINLY GIVEN THE LEADERSHIP OF FOLKS IN MICHIGAN AND OHIO, IS REALLY SEEING ENTITIES NOW THAT WE WOULD SORT OF CALL THIRD GENERATION ENTITIES THAT ARE LAND BANKS THAT ARE AGGRESSIVE. THEY ARE NOT PASSIVE. THEY ACTIVELY ACQUIRE PROPERTIES THROUGH A VARIETY OF MECHANISMS, WHICH WE'LL TALK ABOUT IN A SECOND, AND HAVE SOME FANTASTIC POWERS. SO POWERS THAT ALLOW THEM TO OPERATE ON A REGIONAL BASIS. AS THE CONGRESSMAN MENTIONED, TO BE ABLE TO WORK IN A LARGER PROPERTY AREA WHERE YOU TAKE PROPERTIES THAT ARE DISTRESSED AND ALSO TAKE PROPERTIES THAT ARE TRANSITIONAL AND REALLY, REALLY TRY TO BUILD YOUR PORTFOLIO OF PROPERTIES. THE SECOND IS SELF-FINANCING MECHANISM, SO THE ABILITY FOR SOME COMMUNITIES THAT HAVE COMPREHENSIVE STATE LEGISLATION, WHICH IS THOSE PROPERTY -- OR THE STATES THAT ARE LISTED HERE, THE ABILITY ONCE THEY PUT A NON-PERFORMING PROPERTY BACK ON THE TAX ROLLS, THEY'RE ABLE TO RECAPTURE SOME OF THE AD VALOREM PROPERTY TAXES FOR UP TO A SPLAN OF FIVE YEARS, WHICH IS -- SPAN OF FIVE YEARS, WHICH IS AN INCREDIBLE TOOL. AS YOU'LL SEE, STATES HAVE BEEN VERY INTERESTED IN LAND BANKING RECENTLY. WE'VE SEE FIVE STATES OVER THE PAST THREE YEARS THAT HAVE ADOPTED AND PASSED COMPREHENSIVE STATE ENABLING LEGISLATION. WHY IS THAT? THIS ISN'T JUST A RUST BELT CITY ANYMORE. YOU ALL ARE QUITE FAMILIAR WITH DISINVESTMENT, DEPOPULATION AND THIS THING I'M SURE A FEW OF YOU HAVE HEARD ABOUT THAT, FORECLOSURE CRISIS, RIGHT? AND SO WE'VE SEEN IS YOU HAVE TO ASK YOURSELF WHETHER LAND BANKING IS THE RIGHT TOOL. WE HEAR THAT FROM PEOPLE WHO CALL OUR OFFICE ALL THE TIME AND ALL LAND BANKING AS INCREDIBLE TOOL, IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO THINK ABOUT WHAT ARE THE TRIGGERS THAT MAKE LAND BANKING INCREDIBLY EFFECTIVE IN A COMMUNITY. AND WHAT WE'VE SEEN IS, AGAIN, THOSE COMMUNITIES THAT HAVE AN INCREDIBLE SURPLUS OF PUBLICLY OWNED PROPERTIES. PHILADELPHIA IS A GREAT EXAMPLE WHERE NOT ONLY DO THEY HAVE A HUGE SURPLUS OF PUBLICLY OWNED PROPERTIES, BUT THERE'S FIVE TO SEVEN TO EIGHT DIFFERENT PUBLIC ENTITIES THAT YOU HAVE TO CALL TO FIGURE OUT WHAT -- HOW TO ACQUIRE THAT PROPERTY. NOW, THEY HAVE MADE HUGE, HUGE GAINS, WHICH IS WONDERFUL. THOSE PROPERTIES THAT ARE UNDER WATER, YOU KNOW, THE MARKET IS NOT -- NO ONE IN THEIR RIGHT MIND IS GOING TO BUY A PROPERTY WHERE THE DEBT ON IT IS MORE THAN THE ACTUAL VALUE OF THE PROPERTY ITSELF. OBVIOUSLY PROPERTIES THAT ARE IN THE REO INVENTORY AND THEN ALSO THOSE PROPERTIES THAT ARE TAX DELINQUENT. SO WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CORE POWERS OF LAND BANKS? IN ADDITION TO THE BASIC ACQUISITION, MAINTENANCE, DISPOSITION, HERE ARE SOME OF THE UNIQUE CORE POWERS THAT ARE MAINLY VISIBLE IN THOSE STATES AND THOSE COMMUNITIES THAT HAVE THIS COMPREHENSIVE STATE ENABLING LEGISLATION. WORKING INTERGOVERNMENTALLY ON A REGIONAL BASIS, BEING ABLE TO EXTINGUISH THE BACK TAXES ON A PROPERTY, GETTING CLEAR AND MARKETABLE TITLE WHICH IS INCREDIBLE HOW MANY CITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY WE WORK WITH GO THROUGH THE FORECLOSURE PROCESS, BUT THEY DO NOT HAVE A CLEAR MARKETABLE TITLE ON THAT BACK END. BEING ABLE TO DO SOME OF THE SELF FINANCING WHICH I MENTIONED PREVIOUSLY, AND ALSO TO BE ABLE TO DISPOSE OF PROPERTIES ACCORDING TO LOCAL PRIORITIES AND NOT NECESSARILY A BUREAUCRATIC, CONFUSING PROCESS, WHICH A LOT OF CITIES UNFORTUNATELY DO HAVE RIGHT NOW. ACQUISITION. THESE ARE JUST A FEW EXAMPLES OF THE WAYS THAT LAND BANKS CAN ACQUIRE PROPERTIES. TAX SALES, DONATIONS, MUNICIPAL TRANSFERS, PURCHASES FROM THE OPEN MARKET. MAINTENANCE, WHICH IS PROBABLY THE BIGGEST STRUGGLE WITH MOST LAND BANKS ACROSS THE COUNTRY, AND MOST CITIES AND TOWNS AND MUNICIPALITIES. AND THE ONLY THING I REALLY WANT TO MENTION ON THIS IS A -- AND ALG LAND MENTIONED THIS AS -- ALAN MENTIONED THIS AS WELL, A LAND BANK SHOULD NOT BE ACQUIRING PROPERTIES THAT THEY CAN'T MAINTAIN. YOU DON'T WANT A LAND BANK TO BE THE BIGGEST SLUM LORD, BUT WITH THAT IT GETS VERY TRICKY BECAUSE WE NEVER HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO NATHAN PROPERTIES. IT'S -- MAINTAIN PROPERTIES. IT'S REALLY ABOUT MAINTAINING EXPECTATIONS, THINKING THROUGH DIFFERENT STANDARDS OF MAINTENANCE ACROSS THE LAND BANK JURISDICTION. PLACES LIKE FLINT, MICHIGAN, WHERE THEY ACTUALLY HAVE DESIGNATED CORRIDORS AND/OR NEIGHBORHOODS THAT ARE MORE HIGHLY VISIBLE, THAT THEY HAVE REALLY HAD A MAINTENANCE STANDARD THAT'S MUCH HIGHER. THERE'S ALSO NEIGHBORHOODS WHERE THERE'S SOME REALLY STRONG COMMUNITY PARTNERS AND THEY RELY ON THOSE COMMUNITY PARTNERS TO HELP THEM MAINTAIN THE PROPERTIES. SO WHAT DOES A LAND BANK DO WITH THE PROPERTIES? WHAT ARE SOME OF THE PROGRAMS OF LAND BANKS? THIS IS PROBABLY THE BEST SAMPLING OF THE MAJOR PROGRAMS OF LAND BANKS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY. SO IT'S A LITTLE BIT OF EVERYTHING. THEY COULD BE IN A ROLE OF ASSEMBLING PROPERTY FOR A LARGER DEVELOPMENT DEALS ABOUT THEY COULD BE DOING RENTAL PROPERTIES, BEING AN ACTUAL CODEVELOPER OF PROPERTIES, SELLING THEM OUTRIGHT FOR PRICING POLL THAT THE BOARD SETS AND OBVIOUSLY DOING DEMOLITION ACTIVITIES AND PARTICULARLY WITH THE INFLUX OF THE FEDERAL MONEY THAT HAS COME IN RECENTLY, WE SEE LAND BANKS ACROSS THE COUNTRY DOING A HECK OF A LOT OF DEMOLITION RIGHT NOW AND REALLY CATCHING UP ON THEIR CONDEMNATION INVENTORY. SO THIS IS JUST A SAMPLING, THAT A LAND BANK BASICALLY SETS ITS OWN POLICIES AND PROCEDURES, RIGHT? THAT IS ACCORDING TO THE LOCAL GOALS THAT IT ESTABLISHES BASED ON COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, BASED ON MARKETS, BASED ON LEADERSHIP CAPACITY, BASED ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GOALS, AND IT REALLY, TRULY RUNS THE GAMUT. ONE OF MY LAST SLIDES IS JUST TO TALK ABOUT THE FACT THAT WE HAVEN'T NECESSARILY DONE AS GOOD OF A JOB AS WE SHOULD QUANTIFYING THE IMPACTS OF LAND BANKING THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY. AND I JUST WANT TO POINT OUT A RECENT STUDY THAT WAS DONE IN A COMMUNITY IN MICHIGAN WHERE THEY DID ACTUALLY, THROUGH A SERIES OF ANALYSES, WERE ABLE TO ACTUALLY QUANTIFY THE FACT THAT THERE WERE SOME POSITIVE ECONOMIC IMPACTS BASED ON LAND BANK INTERVENTIONS. I SHOULD ALSO MENTION THAT AT THE CENTER FOR COMMUNITY PROGRESS IN THE FALL, WE ARE GOING TO BE ISSUING A REALLY -- A PRETTY THOROUGH REPORT THAT NOT ONLY SCANS ALL OF THE LAND BANKS ACROSS THE COUNTRY, WHICH IS OVER 120 RIGHT NOW, BELIEVE IT OR NOT, 70% OF WHICH ARE ACTUALLY OPERATING UNDER A COMPREHENSIVE STATE ENABLING STATUTE, INVENTORY OR ENVIRONMENT, BUT WE'RE ALSO GOING TO BE DOING EXACTLY WHAT THIS REPORT DID, BUT DOING ADDITIONAL CASE STUDIES TO REALLY HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THE BEST PRACTICES WITH LAND BANKS ACROSS THE COUNTRY. FOCUSING IN ON SUCH IMPORTANT TOPICS AS HOW YOU ENGAGE YOUR COMMUNITY, HOW DO YOU -- HOW DO YOU FUND YOURSELF. THOSE LAND BANKS ACROSS THE COUNTRY THAT HAVE A DIVERSITY OF FUNDING, HOW ARE THEY ACTUALLY ABLE TO DO THAT? SO LOOK FOR THAT REPORT IN THE FALL AND WE HOPE TO HAVE ANOTHER SLIDE IF I'M EVER INVITED BACK THAT SHOWS THAT. I'LL END WITH JUST SOME BEST PRACTICES, AND REALLY, THE BEST PRACTICES IN THOSE LAND BANKS ACROSS THE COUNTRY THAT ARE, IN MY OPINION, INCREDIBLY EFFECTIVE AT WHAT THEY DO, IS THEY ENGAGE COMMUNITY. AND I CAN'T UNDERSCORE HOW IMPORTANT THAT IS AND EVERYONE DOES THAT A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENTLY. THEY ARE INCREDIBLY TRANSPARENT. WHEN YOU'RE DEALING WITH PEOPLE'S PROPERTIES, YOU HAVE GOT TO BE TRANSPARENT. YOU HAVE GOT -- PEOPLE ARE AUTOMATICALLY GOING TO THINK THAT MAYBE YOU DON'T HAVE THE BEST INTENTIONS. GIVEN SOME OF OUR HISTORIES OF PUBLIC LAND OWNERSHIP OVER THE PAST FEW DECADES. ALWAYS BEING ABLE TO USE DATA TO REALLY GUIDE THE POLICIES AND YOUR END USE GOALS, AND WHAT I'D SAY LASTLY IS DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF SHORT-TERM SUCCESSES. YOU KNOW, WE WORK WITH LAND BANKS ALL THE TIME THAT HAVE THESE GREAT FIVE, 10-, 15-YEAR PLANS, BUT SOMETIMES YOU NEED TO DO THAT COMMUNITY GARDEN TO SHOW YOU'RE THERE, YOU CARE AND SHOW THE ENGAGEMENT. ON OUR WEBSITE, WE HAVE A TON MORE INFORMATION ON LAND BANKS AND LAND BANKING, SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH. [ APPLAUSE ] >> I KNOW YOU ALL HAVE MANY QUESTIONS. THERE ARE TWO MICS HERE AND BECAUSE WE'RE ALSO -- >> OKAY. SO WE'RE READY IF THE PANELISTS ARE READY FOR YOUR QUESTIONS. I'M SURE YOU ALL HAVE A NUMBER OF QUESTIONS FOR THEM WITH THEIR -- I THINK THEIR VERY INTERESTING PRESENTATIONS, SO THERE ARE TWO MICS ON THE FLOOR AND I THINK WE MAY BE GETTING SOME QUESTIONS VIA EMAIL AS WELL. SO WE'LL START WITH KEITH. >> HI. I'M FROM HUD PD&R, I DID THE PUBLICATION EVIDENCE MATTERS. THIS IS A QUESTION MAYBE FOR ANYBODY ON THE PANEL. THIS ISSUE OF HAVING THIS DATA AND ASKING IT. ON A SORT OF BIG SCALE, WE SEE CITIES LIKE DETROIT RIGHT NOW THAT ARE TRYING TO DO PAR VERY WELL LEVEL, GET A SENSE OF THEIR VACANCY ISSUE AND THAT'S SUCH A MASSIVE UNDERTAKING, OF COURSE MORE IN DETROIT THAN SMALLER CITIES, BUT THEY HAVE MORE RESOURCES THAN SOME CITIES DO TO DO IS, BUT I THINK THE CONCERN IS HOW TO MAKE THAT SUSTAINABLE, SO HOW FREQUENTLY, WHEN YOU SEE THESE EFFORTS TO REALLY GET A GRASP OF THE VACANCY PROBLEM, IF THEY'RE NOT UPDATED REGULARLY AND THERE'S NOT FUNDING TO UPDATE THEM, IT BECOMES OUT OF DATE PRETTY QUICKLY. I GUESS MY QUESTION TO THE GROUP IS IDEALLY, OR PRACTICALLY, HOW FREQUENTLY TO THE DATA SOURCES HAVE TO BE UPDATED TO BE A USEABLE RESOURCE? >> I THINK -- >> GO AHEAD AND PRESS -- >> I'M TRYING TO -- OH, THERE WE GO. FIRST, I THINK I WOULD SAY, DOING A PARCEL SURVEY OF THE CITY IS A MAJOR UNDERTAKING, BUT I WOULD NOT CONSIDER IT A MASSIVE UNDERTAKING. EVEN, YOU KNOW, DETROIT IS A HUGE CITY AND EVEN THERE, IT WAS MANAGEABLE. I WOULD SAY A SMALL CITY, THE TECHNOLOGY TO DO THIS STUFF IN AN EFFECTIVE, EFFICIENT FASHION, HAS BECOME MUCH BETTER RECENT YEARS AND A COMMUNITY CAN MOBILIZE A LOT OF CITIZENS AND VOLUNTEERS TO DO THIS STUFF. I THINK IT'S A VERY DOABLE THING, WHICH IS IN THE MEANS OF MOST COMMUNITIES. AND PLACES LIKE LORAINE, OHIO, FLINT, MICHIGAN, HAVE ALSO DONE THESE SURVEYS. SO IT'S NOT THAT DAUNTING. THE SECOND THING, IT IS HARD TO UPDATE. I DOUBT YOU COULD UPDATE IT IN A FORMAL SENSE MORE THAN ONCE EVERY MAYBE TWO OR THREE YEARS. BUT I THINK -- AND DETROIT IS WORKING ON THIS AS ARE OTHER CITIES, IS TO DEVELOPING WAYS OF GETTING IT UPDATED ON AN ONGOING BASIS SO YOU HAVE APPS THAT PEOPLE CAN USE TO REPORT A CHANGE IN THE STATUS OF A PROPERTY THAT GOES INTO THE SYSTEM. YOU CAN MAKE SURE THAT YOUR INSPECTORS, YOUR POSTAL WORKERS, FIREFIGHTERS, OTHER PEOPLE CAN SEE WHAT'S GOING ON WHEN THEY'RE IN A PARTICULAR NEIGHBORHOOD, IN A BLOCK, AND BRING IT INTO THE SYSTEM. SO SYSTEMATIC UPDATING MAY BE ONCE EVERY THREE YEARS, BUT THE REAL VALUE IS IF YOU CAN CREATE THE KIND OF INFORMAL SMALL-SCALE SYSTEMS THAT ALLOW IT TO BE UPDATED PIECEMEAL ALMOST IN REALTIME. >> IF I COULD ADD TO THAT, ONE OF ELEMENTS THAT HELPS IS TO JUST DEVELOP AT THE LOCAL LEVEL PROTOCOLS THAT REQUIRE COMMON IDENTIFIERS TO BE USED IN A VARIETY OF DATA SOURCES. THERE'S THE TAX I.D. NUMBER, FOR EXAMPLE, IS A UNIQUE IDENTIFIER, AND VERY OFTEN, WHETHER IT'S THE STEPT OR WATER SYSTEM -- FIRE DEPARTMENT OR WATER SYSTEM THAT MIGHT HAVE DATA TO UPDATE SOME OF THIS INFORMATION THAT NIGHT GET STALE. IT'S NOT UPDATED BECAUSE IT'S ADDRESS CODED RATHER THAN HAVING THE COMMON TAX I.D. NUMBER ON IT AND IT'S A SIMPLE THING THAT CAN HELP A LOT WHEN IT COMES TO THE REALTIME DATA UPDATES. >> I THINK WE HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION BACK THERE. >> MY QUESTION HAS TO DO WITH SOMETHING THAT'S FAIRLY OBVIOUS WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT CITIES. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT YOU OBSERVE IN, SAY, A COUPLE OF TEXAS CITIES IS THAT THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE THE MEANS HAVE RETREATED, WITHDRAWN FROM THE CITY, CREATED THEIR OWN CITY, PUT A WALL AROUND IT, AND ABANDONED THE PEOPLE WHO COULDN'T MOVE WITH THEM. HIGHLAND PARK, UNIVERSITY PARK IN DALLAS, THE GAL HER YEAH IN -- GALLERIA IN HOUSTON, AND THEY PAY TAXES TO THEIR CITY AND DON'T PAY TAXES TO THE OLD CITY. THE QUESTION IS WHAT THOUGHT OR HAS SOMEONE WRITTEN ABOUT AN APPROACH WHICH WOULD MAINTAIN OR PERMIT THE RETENTION OF THE PEOPLE WITH THE MONEY IN THE OLD CITY? AND IN THAT WAY, NOT DRAIN AWAY THE RESOURCES THAT THE OLD CITY NEEDS TO STAY ALIVE? THEN YOU WOULDN'T HAVE ABANDONED SEGMENTS WITH YOUR BLUE AND YOUR GREEN COLORS WHERE THERE'S NOTHING GOING ON OTHER THAN PEOPLE SURVIVING, BUT NO IMPROVEMENT. AND THEN YOU LOOK AT CITIES LIKE FLINT WHERE ONCE UPON A TIME, THEY HAD A GREAT AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY AND THEY WENT AWAY. THAT'S JUST AN EXAMPLE. >> WHO'D LIKE TO -- ALAN? >> I'LL SAY, FIRST, THE FIRST THING IS THAT PEOPLE ARE GOING TO MOVE, COMPANIES ARE GOING TO MOVE, THESE THINGS ARE GOING TO HAPPEN IF PEOPLE FEEL THEY HAVE RATIONAL REASONS FOR MOVING. IF PEOPLE THINK THAT A CITY IS NO LONGER MEETING THEIR NEEDS AND THEY HAVE THE MEANS TO LEAVE, THEY'RE GOING TO LEAVE. AND THAT'S NOT GOING TO CHANGE. BUT I THINK ONE THING YOU CAN DO IS, AND SOME CITIES, I THINK, HAVESTON A FAR BETTER JOB -- HAVE DONE A FAR BETTER JOB. WHY THE COLUMBUS, OHIO, THE ONE CITY IN OHIO THAT IS ACTUALLY THRIVING OR SOMETHING LIKE IT -- [ INAUDIBLE COMMENTS ] >> NO, IT'S -- COLUMBUS, OHIO, IS THE ONLY CITY IN OHIO WHICH, FOR A WHOLE LOT OF WEIRD HISTORIC REASONS, IS ABLE TO CONTINUE TO ANNEX ADJACENT PROPERTIES, ADJACENT AREAS AS THEY GROW OUT, SO THAT ALL OF THE AREAS WHERE THE WEALTHIER PEOPLE LIVE OR MOST OF THEM ARE PART OF THE CENTRAL CITY AND PAYING TAXES TO THE CENTRAL CITY. ALBUQUERQUE, IT'S THE SAME THING. SO BY ANNEXING OR BY CREATING COMMON CITY-COUNTY GOVERNMENTS LIKE INDIANAPOLIS OR NASHVILLE, YOU CAN SEE -- YOU CAN'T KEEP PEOPLE FROM MOVING TO OTHER AREAS, BUT YOU CAN MAKE SURE THAT IT'S STILL PART OF THE SAME CITY AND THEY'RE ALL PAYING TAXES TO THE SAME ENTITY. NOW, COLUMBUS HAS POOR AND ABANDONED NEIGHBORHOODS. IT'S NOT PERFECT. BUT IT CERTAINLY DOES A BETTER JOB AND HAS A STRONGER STACKS BASE TO DEAL WITH -- TAX BASE TO DEAL WITH TOES PROBLEMS THAN CITIES THAT ARE LAND LOCKED LIKE CLEVELAND OR TOLEDO. >> THAT'S AN EXCELLENT POINT. I'LL ADD ONE MORE. FIRST OF ALL, I USED TO SAY THAT FLINS, MICHIGAN, WAS THE -- FLINT, MICHIGAN, WAS THE LARGEST MONOSYLLABICAL CITY IN THE UNITED STATES, BUT THEN I WAS INFORMED THAT KENT, WASHINGTON, WAS THE LARGEST. YOU KNOW WHY? THEY ANNEXED. FLINT USED TO BE ABLE TO CHASE OR FOLLOW DEVELOPMENT AND DRAW ITS ARMS AROUND THAT DEVELOPMENT AND CALL IT THE CITY AND THEN MOSTLY IN THE '60s BUT EVEN IN THE '70s, ANNEXATION LAWS WERE CHANGED SUCH THAT IT WAS MUCH MORE DIFFICULT FOR COMMUNITIES TO DO THAT. BUT, AND I DO HAVE TO DEPART TO DO SOME MORE MEANINGLESS WORK ON THE HILL, SO IT'S TO JUST LEAVE WITH THIS. ONE OF THE ELEMENTS OF THE TAX SYSTEMS AND LAND BANKING SYSTEMS THAT WE, MANY OF US HAVE DEVELOPED AND IMPLEMENTED, GET AT THIS PROBLEM IN PART BY DEVELOPING THE SOLUTION, THE MODEL, WHETHER IT'S LAND BANKING OR TAX FORECLOSURE, AROUND THE LARGEST GEOGRAPHIC AREA FOR WHICH POLITICAL AGREEMENT CAN BE DERIVED. AND OFTEN THAT'S THE COUNTY, WHICH HAS ALLOWED THE LAND BANK AND THE TAX FORECLOSURE PROCESS TO DERIVE ITS REVENUE FROM THE TAX COLLECTION STREAM REGIONALLY AND LAND BANK SALES FROM THE INVENTORY OF LAND REGIONALLY, AND THEN TAKE THE REVENUES THAT DERIVE FROM THE MORE FUNCTIONAL PORTIONS OF THE COMMUNITY OUTSIDE INTO THOSE COMMUNITIES, AS YOU DESCRIBE, THAT ARE OUTSIDE THE HISTORIC CITY BOUNDARY, BUT USE THAT REVENUE AS A WAY TO USE, TO ESSENTIALLY IMPLEMENT REGIONAL TAX BASE SHARING IN A MANNER THAT ALLOWS YOU TO TAKE THAT COUNTYWIDE OR REGIONAL FUNNEL OF VALUE AND FOCUS IT IN DEALING WITH THE PROBLEM PROPERTIES THAT ARE ALMOST ALWAYS ENTIRELY RESIDENT WITHIN THE HISTORIC BOUNDARIES OF THE CITY. IT'S A WAY TO GET AT REGIONALIZING THE TAX BASE WITHOUT HAVING TO DO IT DIRECTLY AS TAX POLICY, BUT DO IT THROUGH THESE MECHANISMS THAT HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED THAT I THINK REALLY IMPORTANTLY DEAL WITH THE PROBLEM THAT YOU DESCRIBE IN A WAY THAT DOESN'T ALLOW FOLKS TO ESCAPE THE OBLIGATION TO PAY TO CLEAN UP THE MESS THAT THEY LEFT BEHIND. SO WITH THAT, I HAVE TO TAKE MY LEAVE. >> THANK YOU, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE, CONGRESS NAUN. WITH THAT, WE'RE JUST GOING TO TAKE A QUESTION THAT CAME IN THROUGH EMAIL AND WE'LL COME BACK TO THE FLOOR. >> THIS QUESTION CAME IN VIA TWITTER. IT WAS ADDRESSED TO THE CONGRESSMAN, BUT PERHAPS OTHERS CAN COMMENT. [ INAUDIBLE COMMENTS ] >> YOU SAID IMMIGRANTS CAN HELP SHRINKING CITIES. HAVE BUSINESS AND LABOR GROUPS IN THESE SHRINKING AREAS BEEN ALLIES IN YOUR IMMIGRATION REFORM WORK? >> IN WHAT NOW? >> BEEN ALLIES. >> IN IMMIGRATION REFORM? NOT TO THE EXTENT THAT THEY SHOULD BE. I THINK THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS THAT I MENTION IT EVERYWHERE I CAN. WHEN WE THINK ABOUT THE NEED FOR COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM, OFTEN WE THINK ABOUT IT IN TERMS OF THE SORT OF NATIONAL VALUES THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THAT QUESTION AND I SUPPOSE ON EITHER SIDE, IMMIGRANTS BUILT EVERY CITY, VIRTUALLY EVERY CITY IN AMERICA. THERE'S NO REASON THAT WHAT HAPPENED IN THE 18th AND 19th CENTURY CAN'T BE REPEATED IN A DIFFERENT WAY IN THE 20th AND 21st CENTURY AND I THINK WE NEED TO THINK CAREFULLY ABOUT THAT, BUT WE HAVE NOT CONNECTED THOSE DOTS TO THE EXTENT THAT WE SHOULD AND I THINK THOSE OF US LOOKING AT WAYS TO BREATHE LIFE INTO MANY OF AMERICA'S CITIES SHOULD BE LOOKING AT, AND THERE ARE TITLES WITHIN IMMIGRATION REFORM ACT THAT WEEK POINT TO, THAT ACTUALLY -- WE CAN POINT TO THAT ACTUALLY CREATE INCENTIVES FOR NEW INVESTMENT INTO THESE PLACES THAT WOULD BE DERIVED FROM IMMIGRATION REFORM. SO DEFINITELY. THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION. I'M LEAVING AGAIN. >> THANK YOU AGAIN. >> PERMANENTLY. >> THANK YOU AGAIN FOR BEING HERE. [ APPLAUSE ] >> MY NAME IS JULIA AND I WORK HERE IN THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC HOUSING. FOR YOUR BACKGROUND, I'M A THIRD GENERATION PITTSBURGHER AND WENT TO CARNEGIE MELLON TO STUDY ARCHITECTURE AND TO PITT FOR MY MASTER'S DEGREE. I HAVE TWO PARTICULAR ISSUES I WANT TO BRING THAT I DON'T THINK WE'VE TALKED ABOUT TODAY AND I'M HOPING TO GET YOUR RESPONSES ABOUT, TRY TO KEEP THEM QUICK. THE FIRST RELATES TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND VACANT HOUSING AND THE MISALLOCATION. I THINK OFTEN WE TALK ABOUT VACANT HOUSING AS AN ISSUE OF OVERSUPPLY, BUT REALLY IT'S A MISALLOCATION OF RESOURCES. IN PITTSBURGH IN 2007 WHEN I WAS WRITING MY MASTER'S THESIS, WE HAD 70,000 VACANT HOMES, BUT THERE'S OFTEN A FIVE OR TEN-YEAR WAITING LIST FOR PUBLIC HOUSING. SO I'M SEEING A LACK OF POLICIES THAT ARE ORIENTED TOWARDS MATCHING THE AVAILABLE RESOURCES WITH THE NEED AND I GET REALLY CONCERNED WHEN I HEAR ABOUT MASS DEMOLITION WHEN THERE ARE PEOPLE WAITING IN LINE FOR A PLACE TO SLEEP. THE SECOND ISSUE HAS TO DO WITH OVERPRODUCTION OF NEW CONSTRUCTION. IN PENNSYLVANIA, AGAIN, IN 2007, WE WERE PRODUCING 4.3 NEW HOMES WE ARE ONE FAMILY THAT MOVED INTO THE STATE. THIS IS OBVIOUSLY SOMETHING THAT EXACERBATES VACANCY ISSUES AND CAUSES PEOPLE KIND OF TO TOP UP THEIR HOUSES LIKE CELL PHONES, GO FOR THE NEXT BEST MODEL AND WHAT ENDS UP IS THAT THE BOTTOM RUNG HOUSES GET KIND OF DROPPED OFF AT THE BOTTOM. I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF REASONS FOR THIS. I THINK SOME ARE POLICY RELATED AND ECONOMIC RELATED, BUT I THINK THERE'S ALSO A LACK OF RESOURCES AVAILABLE AND POLICIES, AND PARTICULARLY ARCHITECTURAL EDUCATION THAT TEACHES PEOPLE HOW TO RECEIPT TO FIT. I WORKED WITH HABITAT FOR HUMANITY IN PITTSBURGH WHERE THEY WOULD ONLY DO NEW CONSTRUCTION INSTEAD OF RETRO IF I, EVEN THOUGH THERE WAS PLENTY OF VACANT HOUSES AROUND AND IT WAS BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO RETROFIT. IN ARCHITECTURE SCHOOL, KENT STATE, YOU GUYS HAVE AN URBAN DESIGN PROGRAM AND WE ALSO AT CARNEGIE MELLON HAVE A ONE SEMESTER URBAN DESIGN PROGRAM AND THAT'S THE ONE SEMESTER YOU LEARN ANYTHING ABOUT RETROFIT, SO THESE ISSUES I THINK, THERE NEEDS TO BE MORE DONE ABOUT ENCOURAGING RETROFIT VERSUS NEW CONSTRUCTION IN PROBABLY A MYRIAD OF WAYS. >> TERRY, YOU WANT TO -- >> THE ISSUE OF ACTUALLY THIS MISALLOCATION PROBLEM IS JUST -- I MEAN IT'S REALLY POIGNANT TO THINK ABOUT A CITY THAT'S DEMOLISHING 1200 HOUSING UNITS A YEAR AND STILL THAT IS A VERY SIGNIFICANT HOMELESS PROBLEM. BUT IT COMES DOWN TO, YOU KNOW, KIND OF THE CHALLENGES AROUND REHAB. WE WERE TALKING A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THIS AT LUNCH. IF YOU WERE TO REHAB A HOUSE IN CLEVELAND TO FEDERAL STANDARDS, IT WOULD COST BETWEEN 120 AND $140,000, WHERE THE AVERAGE HOUSING PRICE IN THE SAME NEIGHBORHOOD MIGHT BE $40,000. AND SO BECAUSE THE MARKET AND THE COSTS ARE JUST SO MISALIGNED, THAT WE CAN'T EASILY BRING HOUSES UP TO THE STANDARD THAT WOULD MAKE IT, YOU KNOW, KIND OF PUBLICLY ALLOWABLE FOR THESE HOUSES TO BE USED TO SUPPORT, YOU KNOW, KIND OF PEOPLE LIVING THERE. THE REALITY, OF COURSE, THAT IS PEOPLE ARE MOVING INTO THESE HOUSES. THEY'RE JUST DOING IT AND SQUATTING IN THE HOUSES, MAKING THEM THEIR OWN, BUT IT ISN'T A PARTICULARLY SAFE SITUATION, SO WE HAVE TO FIND A WAY TO SORT OF ALIGN THE FEDERAL HOUSING RESOURCES WITH THE KINDS OF CHALLENGES WE FACE BECAUSE WE COULD MAKE A HUGE DENT IN TERMS OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING IF WE WERE ABLE TO KIND OF REALLOCATE THINGS MORE APPROPRIATELY. >> IF I COULD -- DO YOU WANT TO SAY SOMETHING? >> THE ONLY THING I WANTED TO MENTION, FIRST OF ALL, I THINK -- >> CAN'T HEAR. >> GO TO THE MICROPHONE. >> CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? THIS? OKAY. PROBABLY PURPOSEFUL, I KNOW. SO I COMPLETELY CONCUR WITH THE NEED FOR POLICIES ON BOTH OF THOSE, BUT I WILL SAY, WEARING MY LAND BANKING HAT TODAY, SOME OF THE CASE STUDIES THAT WE ARE DOING IS NOT COMPLETELY ADDRESSING THE FIRST ISSUE OF VACANCY AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND THE NEED TO BETTER ALIGN THOSE TWO, BUT THERE ARE SOME REALLY INTERESTING PROGRAMS WHERE A LAND BANK HAS A BIT MORE FLEXIBILITY IN TERMS OF THEIR DISPOSITION AND THE PRIORITIES THAT THEY HAVE DESIGNATED FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND THEIR DISPOSITION REQUIREMENTS ARE INCREDIBLY FLEXIBLE, SO I HOPE TO AT LEAST SHED SOME MORE LIGHT ON SOME LAND BANKS THAT ARE DOING PROGRAMS THAT MAYBE CAN BE REPLICABLE, MAYBE AT A CITY LEVEL OR A STATE LEVEL OR MAYBE BE SCALED UP ON THE FEDERAL LEVEL AS WELL. >> I THINK THERE'S ANOTHER PART OF THAT, IS THAT UNFORTUNATELY, ALSO, THAT, YOU KNOW, THE FEDERAL TOOLS, FOR EXAMPLE, THE LOW INCOME TAX CREDIT PROGRAM, SIMPLY DOES NOT WORK EFFECTIVELY IN THESE ENVIRONMENTS BECAUSE TYPICALLY THE RENT IN THE PRIVATE MARKET RENTAL SECOND TORQUE THE MEDIAN RENT IS BELOW 40% OF AMI, AND SO IF YOU BUILD OR EVEN REHAB VACANT HOUSES USING THE LOW INCOME TAX CREDIT PROGRAM, INSTEAD OF HELPING THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE THE GREATEST NEEDS AND REALLY NEED DECENT HOUSING, WHAT YOU'RE DOING IS DRAWING PEOPLE OUT OF REASONABLY SOUND, OLDER, PRIVATE MARKET HOUSING, WHICH THEN HAS A FAR GREATER CHANCE OF BECOMING ABANDONED BECAUSE THERE'S NO NET INCREASE IN THE OVERALL DEMAND TAKING PLACE. SO IN THE ABSENCE OF HOUSING PROGRAMS THAT CAN ACTUALLY REACH AND XATE PEOPLE BASICALLY BELOW -- ACCOMMODATE PEOPLE BASICALLY BELOW 30, 40% OF AMI, THAT BECOMES ANOTHER IMPEDIMENT TO BEING ABLE TO SOLVE THE MISMATCH PROBLEM. >> SO IT'S 4:00, BUT I JUST WANT TO ASK JEAN IF SHE DOESN'T MIND IF WE TAKE THE LAST TWO QUESTIONS. SO WE CAN ONLY TAKE THE LAST QUESTION. SO WE'LL TAKE THE GENTLEMAN. >> I'LL TRY TO MAKE IT BRIEF. MY NAME IS DAVID AND I'M WITH BUILDING TECHNOLOGY. ALAN SAID IN HIS SECOND POINT, USE REGULATIONS STRATEGICALLY. AND TERRY HAS GIVEN US SOME EXAMPLES OF INTERESTING ADAPTIVE REUSE OF ABANDONED BUILDINGS AND SHELLS OF ABANDONED BUILDINGS. NOW ABOUT TEN OR SOME YEARS AGO, HUD PD&R DETERMINED THAT BUILDING CODES ENFORCEMENT OFTEN DISCOURAGES THE REUSE OF EXISTING BUILDINGS BY PILING ON A BUNCH OF OTHER REQUIREMENTS IN ADDITION TO WHAT THE PROGRAM WANTS TO DO. AND HUD ACTUALLY DEVELOPED A GUIDELINE ON -- FOR COMMUNITIES TO ENCOURAGE THE REUSE OF EXISTING BUILDINGS THROUGH CODE ENFORCEMENT. MY QUESTION REALLY TO TERRY IS, TO WHAT EXTENT IN YOUR EXPERIMENT YOU FIND THE BUILDING DEPARTMENT AS A PARTNER OR A HINDRANCE AND TO WHAT EXTENT PERHAPS USING HUD'S GUIDELINES, BECAUSE THOSE GUIDELINES -- THOSE HUD FLINES HAVE FALLEN INTO -- GUIDELINES HAVE FALLEN INTO DISUSE OVER THE PAST TEN YEARS, TO WHAT EXTENT THIS WOULD HELP? >> I HAVE TO GO ON THE RECORD, HUH? THE BUILDING DEPARTMENT AND THE CITY OFFICIALS, I MEAN, YOU CAN'T DO THESE KINDS OF PROJECTS WITHOUT HAVING FRIENDS IN CITY HALL, BUT I WON'T KID YOU, IT'S REALLY HARD. TEMPORARY PROJECTS IN PARTICULAR ARE NOT SOMETHING THAT MOST BUILDING DEPARTMENTS ARE EQUIPPED TO DEAL WITH. AND, YOU KNOW, I RESPECT IT. AT THE END OF THE DAY, THEY'RE RESPONSIBLE FOR HEALTH AND SAFETY, AND YET, YOU KNOW, KIND OF SOMETIMES A RIGID ADHERENCE TO CODES AND STANDARDS, SOME OF WHICH ARE REALLY CRITICAL TO HEALTH AND SAFETY, OTHERS REALLY AREN'T, YOU KNOW, IT DRIVES UP THE COST OF PROJECTS AND IT REAL PRECLUDES SOME KINDS OF INNOVATION THAT WE'D LIKE TO SEE HAPPEN IN CITIES. BUILDING CODE REFORM AND LAND USE REFORM I THINK ARE TWO REALLY IMPORTANT TOOLS FOR DEALING WITH VACANT AND ABANDONED PROPERTIES. >> KIM OR ALAN? WOULD YOU LIKE TO COMMENT? >> I AGREE. I AGREE COMPLETELY. >> OKAY. WE'RE DONE. WELL, THANK YOU SO MUCH. I THINK WE'RE TURNING THE FLOOR OVER TO JEAN FOR SOME CLOSING REMARKS. >> I WANTED TO THANK ALL THE SPEAKERS TODAY AND ALSO OUR DISTINGUISHED PANELISTS, SO LET'S GIVE THEM A WARM APPLAUSE. [ APPLAUSE ] SO OUR NEXT QUARTERLY UPDATE IS JULY AND THE NEXT TOPIC WILL BE ON FAIR HOUSING. SO I HOPE ALL OF YOU CAN JOIN US FOR THE NEXT UPDATE. IT'S GREAT TO SEE YOU ALL. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.