PROJECTS
The CRH provides technical assistance to communities and local governments for the implementation of strategies for the recovery of disused properties. This support comes in different forms but will always incorporate affected communities and other stakeholders already carrying out work in those areas. Together, we promote new opportunities for affordable housing, civic centers, public spaces and other private facilities, which are essential to the health, safety and sustainability of communities.
CRH FUND
In Puerto Rico, the lack of financing opportunities for the third sector has been a significant obstacle to the revitalization of abandoned properties. CRH has faced these challenges firsthand, finding that traditional financial institutions often view nonprofits as risky and require restrictive conditions. To address this gap, we have created the CRH Fund, an initiative intended to provide lines of credit to community land banks and nonprofit entities and facilitate the rehabilitation of properties for use as affordable housing.
Seed Fund
Obtain $3 million in capital to grow operations over a period of 3 years.
Home Sale
Sales can take advantage of relocation voucher or housing programs.
Technical assistance
Increase the capacity of CLBs to secure administrative infrastructure.
Land Loan
Homes are sold with a perpetual land loan to preserve affordability.
Credit line
Design and offer low-interest credit or guarantees so that CLBs can access capital.
Repayment
CLBs repay their credit lines, freeing up and growing their own capital.
Rehabilitation
CLBs rehabilitate initial properties to make them safe and resilient.
Repetition
CLBs continue to rehabilitate properties increasing their scale and complexity.
VACANT PROPERTY ANALYSIS (VPA) INITIATIVE
Communities across Puerto Rico were severely impacted by Hurricanes Irma and Maria, events that resulted in numerous vacant and deteriorated properties throughout the Island. Identifying these properties is essential for recovery and to address the growing deficit of housing opportunities. affordable housing in the seventy-eight (78) municipalities. Additionally, there is a significant need for community-oriented planning, especially around urban areas as well as in the designated Special Communities in Puerto Rico. This has been established in the Unmet Needs Section of the CDBG-DR Funds Action Plan.
GENERAL INFORMATION OF THE INITIATIVE
The 2020 Census estimates 257,625 vacant housing units in Puerto Rico.
The Vacant Property Analysis (VPA) Initiative is intended to serve as a catalyst for the development of blighted areas with high concentrations of vacant and blighted properties. The Initiative will identify structures that have the potential to be repaired and rehabilitated.
The Puerto Rico Department of Housing (Vivienda) plans to provide support and technical assistance to municipalities in the future, in order to eradicate abandoned and deteriorating properties .
On March 16, 2023 Housing executed a contract with the Center for Habitat Reconstruction (CRH) to carry out the aforementioned tasks.
For more information about this and other programs, visit:
01
Hold Regional Information meetings with CDBG-DR, central and regional Housing staff, municipalities and communities.
02
Develop a methodology to create a database, including an official definition of the vacant properties that will be counted.
03
Create a database at the neighborhood level in each municipality.
04
Creation of templates to collect data and develop databases that are useful for municipalities and Housing, in addition to the development of a Final Report.
Information taken from the Vacant Properties Initiative
MUNICIPAL PROGRAMS
MANAGEMENT OF PUBLIC NUISANCES
An effective program for the identification, declaration and management of vacant and abandoned properties in our municipalities is a fundamental component of any recovery, resilience and revitalization strategy. The CRH worked hand in hand with 14 municipalities to design and implement public nuisance declaration programs. Beginning with the creation of ordinances and regulations, the CRH has supported these municipalities with the training of their personnel, the creation of inventories of public nuisances, the incorporation of citizen participation, the legal processes of formal declaration and the direct management of cases. . For more information about the support that CRH provides to municipal governments, see the " Services " section.
Communities are selected based on their need and meetings are held before, during and after the identification and declaration of public nuisances. Only properties that are unoccupied, abandoned and that represent a risk to the community are worked on.
Municipal staff in conjunction with the CRH and community leaders collect data street by street to compile an inventory of any possible nuisance. The inventory will serve as a basis for community and municipal projects.
COMMUNITY AND MUNICIPAL GUIDE
FOR THE RECOVERY OF DISUSED SPACES
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Over the past years, CRH has worked with various communities, organizations and municipalities in search of the best ways to address vacant and abandoned properties. Through these experiences and observations, the need arises to compile best practices and answers to frequently asked questions in one place. With that in mind, the CRH has created two Guides for the Recovery of Disused Spaces: one aimed at municipal governments (123 pages) and another for community leaders (90 pages). Both guides are available for free online or in physical form:
COMMUNITY LAND BANKS
The Community Land Bank is a nonprofit municipal corporation whose purpose is the acquisition and rehabilitation of abandoned, vacant or dilapidated properties to restore them to productive use. Its implementation has been effective in around 170 cities and counties in the United States. Now, it reaches Puerto Rico through the legislation of the new Municipal Code. The creation of Community Land Banks will facilitate the legal structure to receive properties through the Public Nuisance Management Program and encourage the reuse of affordable housing.
For more information about Land Banks, you can read the Spanish version of the guide written by Frank Alexander
HOW IS IT CREATED?
Pass an ordinance
Appoint a Board composed of the Mayor, the Planning Director and 5 other people
Appoint a 9-person Community Advisory Council
HOW DOES IT WORK?
The Municipality declares properties that represent a risk as nuisances
The title and debt of the property are “cleared” in the process
The Bank may donate, sell or rent its properties based on the strategy established by the Board and Council.
The Municipality acquires properties without owners or that have been abandoned
The Municipality transfers the properties to the Land Bank
TRAINING
FROM MUNICIPALITIES AND NGOS
New legislation on the issue of public nuisances allows for municipal acquisition of vacant and abandoned properties with little investment. This provides the potential for great opportunities for affordable housing and equitable development. However, these tools depend on whether municipalities have functional programs for public nuisance declaration and legal frameworks (or “pipelines”) that facilitate acquisition. Considering this, the CRH has designed a series of workshops aimed at training local governments on the design and implementation of programs based on citizen participation and community development. Since this effort began in 2019, the CRH has offered technical assistance to 246 officials from 47 municipalities and public agencies and 177 representatives from 97 nonprofit and community-based entities.
CURRICULUM
Updates on best practices, case law and legislation.
Models for ordinances, forms and legal documents.
A summary of funds available for future efforts.
Concrete examples of municipal-community collaboration.
The creation of Community Land Banks.
RECORDED WORKSHOPS:
February 10, 2021: “ Public Nuisances within the new Municipal Code: Planning, identification and declaration .”
February 24, 2021: “ Public Nuisances within the new Municipal Code: Stabilization, acquisition and disposal . ”
RESEARCH ON SCHOOL CLOSURES
The Government of Puerto Rico has closed almost half of the public schools. To identify and document the impact that these closures have had, the CRH together with the Othering and Belonging Institute at the University of Berkeley California published a research in 2020 titled, “Closing of public schools in Puerto Rico: Community impacts and recommendations . ”
Originally envisioned as a way to generate new revenue for the Government, the CRH has determined that the closures have only generated $4.3 million between 2014 and 2019. The closed schools are not like other Government real estate, as they are also shelters, centers voting, recreational facilities and an integral part of the social-community fabric. With that in mind, the following proposal is presented as a reform to the management of closed schools.
69%
They remain disused and in a state of abandonment.
41%
They present some degree of deterioration or safety problem.
42%
Of the schools sold or leased remain unused.
Read the study “Closure of public schools in Puerto Rico: Community impacts and recommendations”:
See the presentation of the research in the "webinar" of Filantropía Puerto Rico: