Land Bank Assessment for the City of Griffin and Spalding County

KB Advisory Group conducts assessment of the Griffin-Spalding County Land Bank Authority

KB Advisory Group (KB) Scope

The City of Griffin and Spalding County engaged KB Advisory Group to explore the management, operations, and utilization of the Griffin-Spalding County Land Bank Authority (GSCLBA) and provide recommendations. The report addressed concerns about the GSCLBA’s operations to recommend to the City and County how best to improve the function of the land bank.

Existing Conditions

The City and County had a number of concerns about the GSCLBA, including the organizational challenges of a part-time executive director, lack of funding to support the land bank’s operations, legal challenges of owning substandard housing without clear title, and private developers purchasing renovated properties to rent, ultimately undermining the work of the land bank to support affordability and homeownership.

KB analysts addressed these concerns through a series of recommendations informed by thorough primary and secondary research. This research included identifying and studying foundational best practices of land banks, conducting case studies of successful land bank models across the state, and carrying out interviews with internal stakeholders.

The Findings

Based on research findings, KB analysts developed a series of recommendations mapped on a Priority Index that classified recommendations by the urgency with which they should be implemented and the scale of the impact that those decisions could have on the land bank and the communities it serves.

This comprehensive set of recommendations sought to address the GSCLBA’s challenges. KB analysts recommended city and county leaders audit the over 400 GSCLBA properties and map them on an online platform to gain a better understanding of the positioning of each individual property, pursue partnerships with local and regional non-profits, developers and city/county agencies and network with other land banks across the state, explore funding opportunities to support the land bank’s operations, and consider innovative ways to use the properties owned by the land bank. The Priority Matrix below provides more details on these recommendations and their suggested implementation.