Muncie Land Bank asks commission for clearer process after missed property transfers

Nate Howard, executive director of the Muncie Land Bank, told the Montreal Commission on May 21 that his office has converted deeply distressed tax‑sale properties into development opportunities and wants clearer coordination with the city and county on property transfers.

"These were deeply distressed tax cycle properties that nobody else was taking responsibility for," Howard said, listing the Old West End Ready 2 project as representing roughly $10–$12 million of investment with 34 homes built or rehabbed, including 19 identified as affordable workforce homes. He also said a federal Home Loan Bank grant and a partnership with Habitat for Humanity are supporting seven affordable homes with about $1.5 million in investment.

Howard said the land bank formally sought an interlocal agreement last year that would have given it first right of refusal on neglected tax‑sale properties; that proposal, he said, was "flatly rejected" by county commissioners. He added that a nearly identical agreement was later executed with the MRC, and that the net effect has limited the land bank’s ability to acquire properties the group considers critical to continuing neighborhood work.

"If the MRC and the city intend to move directly into this role, that is completely fine," Howard said. "We simply would appreciate a conversation acknowledging that shift so we can better understand our role going forward, focus our efforts elsewhere where appropriate, and complement the work the city is doing."

Howard invited commissioners to the land bank’s June 5 "First Friday" meeting, when staff will present findings from a 10‑month study of tax‑sale activity in Muncie. He said the study’s results are "troubling" and reinforce the need for a clearer, empowered role for land banking in the city.

Commissioners and staff asked for clarifications about project agreements and enforcement. Howard said transfer and development contracts include timelines and legal recourse: if a buyer fails to complete required rehab on schedule, the land bank can take the property back.

The commission did not take formal action on the land bank’s requests during the meeting. Howard said he will follow up and urged the city to engage the land bank’s forthcoming strategic‑planning process with the Cuyahoga Land Bank to align approaches.

What's next: The land bank will present its tax‑sale study on June 5; Howard asked the commission to engage with that process and to clarify the interlocal transfer pathway so the land bank’s role is defined going forward.