Community Empowerment Matters

  The Detroit Land Bank Authority (DLBA) is the largest current landowner in the City of Detroit and the largest land bank in the country. In 2014, the DLBA owned over 100,000 plots of land that had been deeded over by the City. Most of this land came to the city through tax-foreclosures. When property taxes are not paid for three consecutive years the house or property is foreclosed and forfeited to the city. The objective of the DLBA is “[t]o make vacant and residential public property available for sale in order to promote homeownership, neighborhood revitalization, urban agriculture and economic growth in the City of Detroit.” Community Enterprise Clinic Clients should take advantage of the DLBA’s objective and consider buying land from the DLBA.             In October of 2023, the DLBA announced in their quarterly report that they are in possession of 71,107 total properties. Almost 90% of this inventory is vacant land. There are 8,232 structures in the inventory with some pe

              Given the variety of legal structures, it is essential to pick the one that is best for your business and the goals you’ve laid out for them. And, in this age of conscious consumerism, businesses have looked towards merging both societal benefit and profit. [1] With that in mind, businesses are looking towards the sort of entity forms that provide a structure to achieve this dual-pronged purpose. One such entity in particular that has gathered attention is the relatively new statutory business entity the Low-Profit Limited Liability Company (L3C) . [2] An L3C is considered an entity for entrepreneurs who “value purpose and profits,” and is intended to provide entrepreneurs with the opportunity to form an entity that caters to both these goals. [3] The L3C is the states’ response to the demand of a growing number of social entrepreneurs that seek to combine the financial benefits of a traditional for-profit entity with the social benefits of a non-profit. [4] While th