Community Land Trusts (CLTs)

Part of a family of companies that work together to serve the needs of low and moderate-income residents of the DC metro area, City First Homes aims to expand opportunity for working families and individuals, drive neighborhood stabilization, and preserve affordable housing near transit centers and in gentrifying and challenged communities. Read more about City First Homes...

In response to the displacement of low-income residents by highway construction projects, Rondo Community Land Trust was formed in 1993 to provide permanently affordable housing to residents in Summit-University and Lexington-Hamline, two neighborhoods in St. Paul. It has since expanded to include all residents of Ramsey County who make less than 80 percent of the area median income.  In addition to constructing new homes with sustainable features, Rondo CLT creates affordable housing by moving buildings slated for demolition to vacant lots and then rehabbing them.  To date, this effort has moved 12 buildings, creating 15 housing units and diverting over 15 million pounds of waste from landfills.

The Uptown Alliance has created a Community Land Trust (CLT), the first instituted in Memphis and Shelby County. The Uptown CLT acts as the steward of properties it acquires in the Uptown Neighborhood, maintaining ownership of the land for the benefit of the community by selling, leasing or renting properties within the financial means of local residents. It controls pricing in order to maintain the affordability of the units and the integrity of the neighborhood. Read more about Uptown Community Land Trust...

Catalyzed in 1987 by residents concerned with rising home prices, absentee landlords, and housing disrepair, Durham Community Land Trustees (DCLT) builds, manages, and advocates for permanently affordable housing.  The land trust now owns and manages 282 units, which provides rental and homeownership opportunities to 325 low-income people.  Committed to supporting local businesses, DCLT procured over $300,000 in services from small, local subcontractors in 2017.