Albany County Land Bank makes milestone sale

ALBANY (July 24, 2017) — The Albany County Land Bank will hold a public workshop for potential property buyers Tuesday, a day after announcing that it had hit the century mark in sales.
The County Land Bank sold its 100th property recently, when Albany resident Ana Claudia Calabria paid $25,000 for a vacant two-unit home at 62 Spring St., Albany, Executive Director Adam Zaranko said. Calabria is expected to invest more than $100,000 within the next 12 months to fully rehabilitate the 127-year-old building.
“We found working with the Albany County Land Bank to be a great experience and are excited by the initiative that is being shown to address the multitude of vacant properties in Albany,” Ana Claudia Calabria said.
The Albany County Legislature voted to create the Albany County Land Bank in 2014, and conveys tax-foreclosed properties to it so they can be resold and revitalized. Last month, The County Land Bank sold the property at 76 Spring St., Albany, to a private buyer, meaning the last two vacant properties on the street will return to generating property taxes.
In addition recording 100 sales, the Albany County Land Bank has more than an additional 100 sales pending, Zaranko said. The total sales are expected to generate more than $4.5 million in private investment throughout Albany County, with the majority of it concentrated in the Arbor Hill, Sheridan Hollow, South End, West End and West Hill neighborhoods of Albany.
The Albany County Legislature has dedicated $1.75 million in budgeted dollars to the Land Bank. Majority Leader Frank Commisso praised the work of the Albany County Land Bank, saying its 100th sale marked a significant benchmark in its development.
“It demonstrates that the organization is accomplishing what the Legislature’s Democratic Majority designed it to do,” Commisso said. “Just last week, the Legislature voted to transfer 38 additional delinquent properties to the Land Bank.”
Those wishing to learn more about applying for and acquiring a Land Bank property can attend a workshop from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Albany Public Library — Arbor Hill/West Hill Branch. Questions? E-mail Land Bank Community Outreach Coordinator Sylvia Berman at sberman@albanycountylandbank.org, or check out the Land Bank’s website here.

