Autoridad del Land Bank

The Chattanooga Land Bank is working with the City of Chattanooga to transform vacant properties owned by the City into affordable housing. This initiative addresses the 2023 Chattanooga Housing Action Plan recommendation for the City of Chattanooga to develop a new public land disposition policy and process that prioritizes the creation of affordable housing and returns parcels in tax foreclosure to the market as homes. The objectives for this initiative include:

• Create new for-sale units affordable to households earning at or below 100% of Chattanooga’s Area Median Income (AMI) and create new rental units affordable to households earning at or below 80% AMI
• Repurpose vacant, abandoned, and foreclosed properties to reduce blight and revitalize neighborhoods in Chattanooga’s urban core
• Preserve affordability in neighborhoods that are seeing or poised to see significant investment in the future
• Develop strategic partnerships with nonprofits, community organizations, lenders, and local developers to build the housing ecosystem in Chattanooga

The Land Bank will periodically release properties for development through a Request for Proposals process. Proposals must comply with all requirements outlined in the RFP, including affordability requirements. Applicants will be evaluated based on their development experience and capacity, the feasibility of the proposed project, and the project design. More information about specific requirements can be found in the RFP.

Applicants must be in good standing with the Chattanooga Land Bank Authority and the City of Chattanooga, with no outstanding property taxes, code violations, or municipal liens. Applicants may not be in breach of any development agreement with the Chattanooga Land Bank Authority or City of Chattanooga. Employees of the City of Chattanooga and their immediate family members (including their spouse, parents, stepparents, in-laws, grandparents, siblings, children, or stepchildren) are not eligible to receive properties.

You must be registered as a vendor with the City of Chattanooga in order to apply to develop a property. Visit our Supplier Portal for information about how to apply.

All properties donated by the Chattanooga Land Bank Authority must meet affordability requirements after development. Selected developers will sign a developer agreement and deed restrictions. Requirements include:

• For-sale units must be affordable to households earning 100% of the area median income or less. For-sale units cannot be sold for more than $200,000.
• Rental units must be affordable to households earning 80% of the area median income or less.
• Rental units must remain affordable for a minimum of ten years, and for-sale units must remain affordable for a minimum of fifteen years.
• Projects must begin construction within 12 months of conveyance.
   

More detailed information about requirements is included in the RFPs.

Starting November 3rd, the CLBA plans to issue three Requests for Proposals for the development of seven properties Visit our Bids and Solicitation page to see the RFPs.

See below for important dates related to this round of RFPs.

Sign up to receive information about the Chattanooga Land Bank Authority, including updates on upcoming development opportunities.