Kansas City faces significant housing challenges, including high vacancy rates (10.5% of housing units) and declining Black homeownership, which has decreased by 2.5% in recent years with fewer than 50% of Black households owning homes. To address these issues, the City’s Land Bank is collaborating with the Office of Housing and Community Development to transform vacant properties into affordable housing opportunities in targeted neighborhoods, especially those participating in the Housing Accelerator Program.
This project will comprehensively address the barriers to affordable homeownership by creating a data-driven rubric to evaluate properties for redevelopment, establishing effective land optimization processes, and developing a scalable framework that can be replicated across various neighborhoods. Through community engagement and strategic partnerships with financial institutions and philanthropic organizations, the initiative will create sustainable pathways to homeownership, particularly for historically marginalized groups. The project aims to not only create housing opportunities but also reduce crime, improve public safety, and increase property tax revenues while building intergenerational wealth.
