The group said it would use the funds to accelerate blight remediation by acquiring, maintaining, redeveloping and then selling more than 100 additional properties.
The Waterbury Land Bank (WLB), a nonprofit organization focused on redeveloping distressed properties in the city, is seeking $5 million in state funding.
The WLB, which has acquired 32 properties and disposed 13 since it was founded in 2022, would use the funds to accelerate blight remediation by acquiring, maintaining, developing and selling more than 100 additional properties, according to a presentation by Executive Director Nancy MacMillan. The organization plans to acquire 33 parcels this year and has identified 13 neighborhoods near downtown with significant concentrations of blighted or vacant properties.
MacMillan said the $5 million grant would help the WLB accelerate its acquisition of properties and rehabilitate some of them.
"We've done a lot without it, but we could be a leader in land banking in Connecticut mainly because of our good collaborative relationship with the City of Waterbury," she said.
The state legislature’s Commerce Committee on Thursday voted 20-0 in favor of sending the bill (Senate Bill 241) to the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee for further review. The legislation would authorize the state Bond Commission to issue $5 million in bonds and transfer the proceeds to the state Department of Economic and Community Development, which would distribute the money to the WLB as a grant.
Two other Connecticut cities have land banks, both of which received $5 million in state funding to help with startup costs. The Hartford Land Bank was founded in 2017 but didn’t start operating until 2020, while the New Haven Land Bank was founded in 2023.
