City leaders in Cambridge are continuing to move forward with a plan to tackle one of the city’s biggest challenges — vacant and underused properties.
Their latest tool is called a land bank — and officials say it could help bring long-neglected properties back into productive use.
A land bank is not a traditional bank — it does not hold onto property for long periods.
Instead, it works as a middle step.
The organization would acquire distressed properties, get them stabilized and then transfer them to developers who can bring them back to life.
Maryland first allowed land banks under a state law passed in 2014. And in 2024 Cambridge became the first jurisdiction in the state to establish one under that law.
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