“We need land banks everywhere.” Nate Howard, the Executive Director of Muncie Land Bank, has seen what positive changes can come from rehabilitating abandoned and vacant properties in his area. An empowered land bank can reduce blight and save taxpayers money, plus contribute to the supply of affordable housing. He noted that in Ohio, most counties have their own land banks. Why not have more in Indiana? Within the state, the closest land banks to Fort Wayne are in Muncie and Indianapolis. “Where land banks really thrive, they are supported financially by the city, and the inventory they use comes through the county government. Where land bank legislation is more developed, a lot of those things are explicit in state law.” Land banks acquire property that has become tax-delinquent, and...
