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CLT Profiles Burlington,
Vermont One of the largest and most influential CLTs is located in Burlington, Vermont, a university town of about 40,000 on the shore of Lake Champlain. Since the early '80s, economic growth and progressive public policies, combined with an attractive setting, have made Burlington an increasingly desirable - and increasingly expensive - place to live. With active support from city government, BCLT was established in 1984 to produce - and preserve - affordable housing for local residents. In sixteen years, BCLT's holdings have grown to nearly 500 units of housing , including single-family homes, housing cooperatives, condominiums, and varied rental options. In the process, BCLT has had a major impact on conditions in a low-income neighborhood, while expanding housing opportunities for low-income people in that neighborhood - and in outlying suburban areas as well. All of BCLT's housing is affordable not just for the first residents but for all residents thereafter. BCLT Director Brenda Torpy says, "We're old enough to have had a number of resales, and we've seen it really work. The second time around we don't need any additional government subsidy and we typically serve a lower income family. We're doing that at the same time that the seller is taking equity with themŠ and has had all the tax benefits and all the security that homeownership offers." Beginning in the 1980s, residents of Albuquerque's Sawmill neighborhood created a community organization to fight pollution from a nearby particle-board factory. At the same time, on the other side of the neighborhood, historic Old Town was becoming a leading tourist attraction, with galleries, trendy shops, restaurants and museums. The resulting gentrification, pushed home prices upward, and the Sawmill residents started to worry about their families' futures in a neighborhood where some hadlived for generations. To expand affordable housing opportunities in this situation, the community organization negotiated with the City to gain the right to develop 27 acres of vacant land once occupied by the old sawmill operation. The existing organization then created the Sawmill CLT to develop and hold the land. On this site the CLT is now developing 99 housing units, including single-family homes, townhouses and senior apartments, together with a plaza, park, community center, and projected commercial space. To make sure that this development continues to serve lower income residents of the community, the land will be held permanently in trust by the CLT. Durham Community Land Trustees was organized in 1987 by residents of Durham's West End neighborhood, a predominantly African American, low-income community adjacent to the campus of Duke University. DCLT's housing program was launched with technical assistance and project financing from the Institute for Community Economics' Revolving Loan Fund, which supports CLT projects around the country. As development has accelerated in recent years, financing has come from a growing number of sources, including the Federal Home Loan Bank, municipal bonds, and Duke University. Project subsidies and operating support have come from the City and the North Carolina Community Development Initiative. By focusing its housing rehabilitation efforts on specific blocks, DCLT has had a significant impact on conditions in the neighborhood, helping to raise community morale and becoming an important vehicle for community organizing and advocacy efforts. Through its lease-purchase program, DCLT makes homeownership possible for families who could not otherwise own homes - and keeps those homes affordable for future families. |