Buffalo Erie Niagara Land Improvement Corporation

TO ACQUIRE, IMPROVE, ASSEMBLE AND SELL DISTRESSED, VACANT, ABANDONED AND/OR TAX DELIQUENT PROPERTIES.

BENLIC IMPLEMENTED A NOVEL PROPERTY SALES PROGRAM IN 2017, THE "DEVELOPMENT ENFORCEMENT NOTE AND MORTGAGE" INITIATIVE WAS A BEST PRACTICE DEVELOPED ORIGINALLY BY THE GREATER SYRACUSE NY LAND BANK. THE GOAL OF THE PROGRAM SALES IS TO SELL DISTRESSED PROPERTIES TO RESPONSIBLE BUYERS AT MINIMAL COSTS TO THE LAND BANK, BUT TO ENSURE SUCH BUYERS MAKE SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENTS TO THE PROPERTIES. THE IMPROVEMENTS NEEDED ARE DICTATED BY A SCOPE OF WORK DEVELOPED BY BENLIC AND THE PERFORMANCE OF THE BUYER TO MAKE SUCH IMPROVEMENTS IS SECURED BY A LIEN RECORDED BY BENLIC IN THE AMOUNT OF THE WORK NEEDED FOR THE PROPERTY. IN 2019, BENLIC SOLD TWENTY-ONE (21) VACANT TO VALUE PROPERTIES. IN 2021, WE MONITORED THE PROGRESS OF THESE VACANT TO VALUE PROPERTIES AND DISCHARGED FOURTEEN (14) PROPERTIES FROM THE PROGRAM FOR HAVING COMPLETED THE WORK SCOPE IMPROVEMENTS THE BUYERS COMMITTED TO AT PURCHASE. IN 2021, BENLIC DISPOSED OF THIRTEEN (13) PROPERTIES TO BUYERS PARTICIPATING IN THE VACANT TO VALUE PROGRAM. BUYERS OF SUCH PROPERTIES HAVE BEEN MONITORED CLOSELY AS TO THEIR IMPROVEMENT WORK MANY HAVE GONE ABOVE AND BEYOND THE MINIMAL SCOPE AND NONE HAVE FALLEN OUT OF COMPLIANCE TO-DATE. THE CORPORATION CONTINUES TO SEE THE SUCCESS OF THE PROGRAM IN ITS IMPACT AND FLEXIBILITY IN DEALING WITH RETURNING DISTRESSED PROPERTIES TO PRODUCTIVE USE IN FUTURE YEARS.