Greater Syracuse Land Bank announced that Katelyn Wright, executive director, has received the Dan Kildee Legacy Award. The award, issued by the National Land Bank Network, recognizes an individual who have made incredible contributions to the field of land banking.
The award was presented to Wright at the National Land Bank Network summit Oct. 17 for her work in Syracuse and supporting land banks throughout New York and across the country. This is only the second time the NLBN has awarded this honor.
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When the Land Bank Act was signed into law in 2011, Wright, as a planner working for the city of Syracuse, staffed the joint city-county steering committee that developed the plan to create and operate a countywide land bank. Syracuse’s was one of the first five land banks approved for creation by New York state in 2012, since which time she’s served as the Greater Syracuse Land Bank’s executive director.
The Greater Syracuse Land Bank has taken a proactive approach to acquiring vacant and abandoned properties, emphasizing the importance of site control to achieve neighborhood revitalization, and remains the largest land bank in New York. This approach has enabled them to bring more state grant funding home to Syracuse than any other land bank in New York.
The Greater Syracuse Land Bank under Wright’s leadership has acquired over 2,100 properties, sold nearly 1,300 properties, returning $2 million in assessed value to the tax rolls, leveraged over $47 million in private investment and more than $50 million in grant funds, demolished nearly 600 blighted structures, enabled the city and county to collect more than $35 million in previously uncollectible delinquent taxes, and developed a program to work collaboratively with other city and county agencies using EPA grant funds to proactively test and remediate environmentally contaminated abandoned properties.
With support from CenterState CEO, Wright helped found the NY Land Bank Association, serving as its president from 2012-2016, since which time she has served as its treasurer. Wright has taken a leading role in the association’s legislative advocacy, working with our state delegation in Albany to get numerous amendments to the Land Bank Act passed that have saved the Greater Syracuse Land Bank millions of dollars in carrying costs (along with benefitting all New York land banks) and cut red tape that would otherwise delay the return of abandoned properties to productive use. Wright has contributed to developing educational programming for other land banks, hosting the NYLBA’s annual conference in Syracuse numerous times.
Since 2012, Wright has become known as a leader in the land banking field, invited to present at countless conferences nationally and to assist communities throughout the Northeastern U.S. who are thinking about creating land banks to help them refine their plans to fight blighted and abandoned properties. The Greater Syracuse Land Bank’s policies and procedures have served as a model for the 27 other land banks that now exist across New York.
The Dan Kildee Legacy Award for Excellence in Land Banking is named for Dan Kildee who co-founded and served as the president of the Center for Community Progress, a national nonprofit organization focused on urban land reform and revitalization. He also founded Michigan’s first land bank—the Genesee County Land Bank, which has served as a model for over 250 other land banks across the nation. He currently serves in Congress representing Michigan’s 8th District.
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