Pittsburgh’s Land Bank is now expecting to buy and sell fewer properties than officials initially hoped, after the city pulled $3 million of the bank’s proposed $10 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding.
While Mayor Ed Gainey had initially proposed giving the Land Bank a $10 million infusion from ARPA dollars, that number was reduced to $7 million during the city’s budget talks late last year.
The $3 million that the Land Bank lost was instead budgeted for a new food justice fund.
The Land Bank board in December voted on a $10 million, four-year ARPA spending plan, which needed to be revised based on the reduced funding.
Land Bank manager Sally Stadelman in a presentation to the board in December had set a goal for the Land Bank to buy and then sell more than 650 properties over the four-year span.
On Friday, she pitched a new plan that now projects the Land Bank could clear 390 properties, a decrease of 260 from the Land Bank’s prior goal.
“Council had to make some hard decisions on some ARPA funding, but that doesn’t affect what the Land Bank can do,” said Councilman Bobby Wilson, who sits on the Land Bank’s board.
Council members said during the budget process that if the Land Bank successfully uses all of its ARPA money to buy and sell land, officials would work to find additional cash to further its work.
The board unanimously approved the new spending plan Friday.
Related:
• Pittsburgh Land Bank approves $10M spending plan for covid relief money• Pittsburgh City Council considers proposal to shift $3M in Land Bank funding to new food justice fund
• Pittsburgh City Council approves $800M budgets for next year
