LISC Sponsors Vacant Properties Symposium

National Expert to Lead Discussion

KANSAS CITY, MO (September 19, 2009) —In an effort to breathe new life into vacant properties in Kansas City, Greater Kansas City LISC is hosting a Vacant Properties Symposium on Thurs., Sept. 24, from 2 to 5 p.m. at the Kauffman Conference Center, 4801 Rockhill Rd.  Joseph Schilling, from the National Vacant Properties Campaign and one of the nation’s leading experts on vacant properties, will be the featured speaker, and Julie Seward, Director of State Policy for Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) in New York, will facilitate.

 “Our mission is to turn struggling neighborhoods into sustainable communities; and in order to do this, new strategies must be employed to reduce Kansas City’s vacant properties,” said Julie Porter, Executive Director of Greater Kansas City LISC. “The Vacant Properties Symposium will bring together community leaders to review successful models from around the country and determine what may work in Kansas City.” 

Kansas City has approximately 7,000 vacant or abandoned properties, according to a recent article in The Kansas City Star. The metro area also topped the list of America's Abandoned Cities published by Forbes magazine. In Kansas City, rental vacancy rates rose from 11.9 percent to 15 percent over the past year; homeowner vacancy rates nearly doubled, up from 2.1 percent to 3.8 percent, according to Forbes. 

One of the important roles Greater Kansas City LISC plays in the community is to convene diverse groups and facilitate dialogue on complex issues relating to urban revitalization, such as this symposium. The challenge of reducing the number of abandoned and vacant properties is too large for one group to solve and will require a public-private collaborative effort.

At the Vacant Properties Symposium, participants representing the City of Kansas City, Mo., neighborhood groups and the business community will discuss strategies that jumpstart productive reuse of abandoned and vacant parcels. Schilling will guide the group to assess the scope of vacant properties issues in Kansas City; survey effective policies established by other U.S. cities to address the problem; and discuss how leaders can harness collaborative strategies. 

“Abandoned and vacant properties cripple our urban core neighborhoods. They reduce property values, hinder tax revenues, discourage development; and they are physical hazards and magnets for crime,” added Porter.  

As a founding member of and Director of Policy and Research at the National Vacant Properties Campaign (www.vacantproperties.org), Schilling facilitates strategic problem solving among federal, state and local officials, neighborhood groups, the housing industry, and community development practitioners to reclaim vacant properties and rebuild cities. He led the Campaign’s 2008 assessment study, Regenerating Youngstown and Mahoning County, and is currently working with local leaders in Syracuse, New Orleans, and Philadelphia. Schilling is also Associate Director, Green Regions Initiative Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech and teaches land use law and policy, Brownfields redevelopment, community involvement and environmental policy and planning. Schilling earned a Master’s of Environmental Law from George Washington University and a doctor of law degree from Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco.  

The Vacant Properties Campaign was launched in 2005 and was formed to help communities prevent abandonment, reclaim vacant properties, and once again become vital places to live. The Campaign is a collaboration of four leading national organizations, Smart Growth America (SGA), Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), the International City/County Management Association (ICMA), and the Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech (MI).The campaign is achieving its goals by developing a national network of vacant property practitioners and experts, providing tools and research, supporting reclamation efforts, and building the capacity of community leadership through training and technical assistance.