Greater Boston CLT Network update!

DSNI is proud to convene and staff the Greater Boston Community Land Trust Network, which we co-founded with a diverse set of community groups in 2015. At that time, Dudley Neighbors Inc. was the only CLT in the Network, alongside neighborhood groups and nonprofits interested in starting their own CLTs. Today, many of those groups have formed CLTs, and GBCLTN has 8 member CLTs from Boston, Somerville and Chelsea. Member CLTs are all using this model creatively to bring more housing, farms, cultural amenities and green space under community control.

In February of this year, DSNI received from the City of Boston an allocation of $2 million dollars to advance the aims of the GBCLTN. This allocation was originally put into the City’s 2021 budget by City Councillors who believe in the power and potential of CLTs, and after months of discussions with the City, GBCLTN was awarded this investment. With Network members, DSNI will use this money to start a revolving loan fund to support CLT activities, offering a low-cost source of capital that is democratically governed. We will use some of the funds to develop programs to support homeowners, to get more land and housing under community control, and to demonstrate more creative ways that CLTs improve our communities. Now, we are issuing our first loans and grants, and are fundraising so that we have much more capital to work with across our neighborhoods.

Currently we’re working on establishing a program that will help seniors, and anyone who owns land or housing, transfer their properties to a community land trust. Why would someone want to do this? Reasons include: being more able to age in place, in community; reduced housing costs and tax burden; supporting the mission of long-term community preservation; and creating a legacy for your home that benefits the neighborhood and generations to come.

Another aspect of our work is implementing and growing the newly created Small Properties State Acquisition Funding Pilot ($1million), a State program to help groups acquire and preserve affordable housing for the long term. GBCLTN conceived of, fought for and won this program in 2022! We are lobbying our legislators to fully fund this program for a big impact, and working with partners across the state to grow housing preservation as an anti-displacement and community wealth building strategy.

Congratulations to Minnie McMahon, our new Network Coordinator of the Greater Boston CLT Network! We created a full time position so that we can expand our groundbreaking work. For more information about GBCLTN and GBCLTN projects, contact Minnie, mmcmahon@dsni.org