The city of Baltimore is selling vacant homes for a dollar apiece to revive struggling neighborhoods.
Currently, more than 13,000 homes in the city sit vacant, often abandoned due to high rates of violent crime.
The city now owns close to 1,000 of them, in what’s amounted to an unsuccessful bid to address the decades-old problem.
However, with the new program passed by Mayor Brandon Scott, individual buyers and community land trusts will now be eligible to buy the city-owned vacant homes for as low as $1.
Small nonprofits can also purchase the homes, however for $1,000 apiece. Developers and larger nonprofits can also get a piece of the pie, but would need to pay $3,000. Officials explained the sales program in an official statement:
“Baltimore City Housing Department’s Development Division strategically acquires and manages vacant or abandoned properties, ultimately enabling these properties to be returned to productive use and improving Baltimore’s neighborhoods.
“The Fixed Pricing Program will allow for certain city-owned vacant buildings and lots in specific housing market typologies to be sold for a fixed price. Fixed pricing will increase transparence and streamline our disposition process in the city’s stressed neighborhoods, which are the most impacted by vacant properties.”
Read the full story in the Daily Mail.
