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An aerial view shows an abandoned property\u00a0on Friday near the intersection of Routes 61 and 29 in Greenwich. The brownfield is one that might be redeveloped under a new Washington County land bank program.<\/p>\n
Jim Franco\/Times Union<\/p>\n
Under Washington County\u2019s new land bank program \u2014 the 32nd program of its kind in New York \u2014 this abandoned property near the intersection of Routes 61 and 29 in Greenwich may be redeveloped. A goal of the program is to ease the rural housing crisis and bolster economic development. The revitalizations will also return property to the tax rolls.<\/p>\n
Jim Franco\/Times Union<\/p>\n
An abandoned, overgrown property is seen Friday through the trees near the intersection of Routes 61 and 29 in Greenwich. The brownfield is one that might be redeveloped under a new Washington County land bank program.<\/p>\n
Jim Franco\/Times Union<\/p>\n
An abandoned property on Friday near the intersection of Routes 61 and 29 in Greenwich. The brownfield is one that might be redeveloped under a new Washington County land bank program.<\/p>\n
Jim Franco\/Times Union<\/p>\n
An abandoned property on Friday, near the intersection of Routes 61 and 29 in Greenwich. The\u00a0brownfield is one that might be redeveloped under a new Washington County land bank program.<\/p>\n
Jim Franco\/Times Union<\/p>\n
Property near 61 Vail St. on Friday in Salem. The brownfield is one that might be redeveloped under a new Washington County land bank program.<\/p>\n
Jim Franco\/Times Union<\/p>\n
An abandoned property on Friday, near the intersection of Routes 61 and 29 in Greenwich. The brownfield is one that might be redeveloped under a new Washington County land bank program.<\/p>\n
Jim Franco\/Times Union<\/p>\n
FORT EDWARD\u00a0\u2014 Salem Supervisor Sue Clary loves to stroll through the old Shushan Bentwood property in the village. She finds the 10 acres of grassy paths winding among the rundown industrial buildings to be peaceful.<\/p>\n
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Yet at the same time, she said that property is a burden, \u201ca big black hole in our community.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u201cThere is such a good feeling to the property,\u201d Clary said. \u201cThere is a lot of potential there. It could be senior housing. We could put little houses there for people who need homes. But right now, nothing can happen there. The debt on the property is higher than the market value. Plus, it\u2019s got lien. Adding all those things up, it\u2019s stagnant. It\u2019s not good for anybody. It\u2019s also a public safety hazard.\u201d<\/p>\n
That property is one reason Clary decided to reach out to Essex County, where since 2022, four abandoned and derelict properties have been restored to affordable housing through a land bank program. The program works like this: the county identifies properties that are off the tax rolls and refers them to the nonprofit North County Rural Development Coalition. The nonprofit will assess the property and decide if it can be rehabbed or needs to be demolished. Then the NRDC will secure land bank funding, which comes through the state\u2019s Office of Homes and Community Renewal, supplemented by other private and public\u00a0funders, to revitalize the property.<\/p>\n
In partnership with the 40-year-old\u00a0NRDC and with approval from the state\u00a0HCR, Washington County will establish the state\u2019s 32nd land bank with a goal of easing the rural housing crisis and bolstering economic development. The revitalizations will also return property to the tax rolls.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n Add Preferred Source<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThis could be a win-win-win situation for every town in Washington County,\u201d Clary said.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Since 2011, land banks have thrived throughout the state in cities like Albany and Troy and rural counties like Essex and Franklin. According to the Center of Community Progress, which studied housing in rural areas, rural properties are just as vital to easing the state\u2019s housing shortage. It concluded that \u201cthe only solution to homelessness is a home\u201d and that the current structure of emergency housing and shelters is more expensive than offering people a permanent place to live. The group says the emergency shelter system currently in place does not solve the problem nor improve the quality of life.<\/p>\n Laura\u00a0Oswald, the county\u2019s director of economic development, planning and tourism, will head up the Washington County land bank board. She said land banking could play a part in reducing shelter spending, which continues to rise for the county. In 2025, the county spent $2.89 million on emergency housing and services. In 2026, it expects to spend $3.6 million, its posted budget shows. That does not include the additional $400,000 it plans on spending on Code Blue, the winter emergency shelter for the homeless.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t know what it looks like yet, but land banking can be part of the solution,\u201d she said. \u201cWhat we want to do is take something that is not working and fix it to make it work. The strategy is to support growth in the county for business, industry and housing. We are limited because we don\u2019t have development sites for housing or business. We have a lot of agricultural fields, which we need for agriculture. \u2026 Instead of taking our agricultural fields and building houses, the better strategy is to take what is existing and not working and make it productive again.\u201d<\/p>\n Washington County is still in the earliest stages of its land bank. It has only just created its board and is working on a website with NRDC to help identify properties. Oswald estimated that the county has about 100 properties that could be considered.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n According to the state office of HCR, the state has invested $160 million in grant funding to land banks. That has resulted in the creation or preservation of more than 300 affordable homes and the removal of over 200 blighted structures across New York. Land banks are also part of Gov. Kathy Hochul\u2019s $50 million MOVE-IN NY program, which is designed to bring up to 200 prefabricated homes to underutilized lots.<\/p>\n \u201cLand banks are a vital part of the governor\u2019s five-year $25 billion housing plan, which is why expanding the ability for more land banks to form \u2014 and giving communities the tools they need to revitalize while providing much-needed affordable housing \u2014 is such an important step in our efforts to tackle the housing crisis,\u201d\u00a0 HCR said in a prepared statement.<\/p>\n While NRDC will be charged with applying for the funding, Oswald cautioned that there\u2019s no guarantee the county will be able to secure funding for all the projects supervisors want to tackle, like Shushan Bentwood<\/a>. However, she said the county was interested in redeveloping brownfields.<\/p>\n