Prairie Roots Community Land Trust in Lincoln

A citywide Community Land Trust (later coined the Prairie Roots Community Land Trust) was launched in 2022 as a wholly owned subsidiary of NeighborWorks Lincoln. Prairie Roots has an autonomous Board of Directors, but annual budget and guarantee decisions remain the purview of the parent.

While still somewhat novel to the Lincoln market, land trusts have become an integral tool to facilitate permanent affordable housing in nearly 40 states. In a CLT, a buyer purchases their home at steep discount, but ownership of the land underneath the property remains with the Trust. At purchase, the buyer enters into a 99-year land lease with the CLT that obligates them to care for their property while restricting any future transfer to a family in the same economic situation (AMI %) they were in when they bought the unit. If/when they decide to sell, their home will appreciate by the percentage of income inflation during the same timeframe (i.e. if incomes have risen 25% since they bought they would be able to sell their $160K for $200K).

This tool perpetuates affordability for future LMI homebuyers while still allowing buyers to build and appreciate assets. The homes vested in the CLT (by any developer) will therefore be affordable for generations to come—the gap funding leveraged exponentially with each successive transfer. The vision for the CLT is a mixed-use portfolio or residential and commercial structures that is stewarding permanently affordable housing in every Lincoln neighborhood.

More information HERE
CLT articulated and implemented with NeighborWorks Lincoln