Detroit Land Bank Authority's side lot program hits 10,000 purchases

DETROIT (WJBK) - The Detroit Land Bank Authority hit a milestone earlier this week. They've sold 10,000 side lots to Detroiters, who work to keep their neighborhoods beautiful and free from blight and illegal dumping. 

For years, these homeowners had been tending to the vacant lots next door. With that in mind, the DLBA launched the side lot program in 2014. 

The program allows homeowners who are up to date on their taxes to buy up to 5,000 square feet of vacant land next door for just $100.

"The beauty and the benefit of the side lot program is that it allows for residents who stayed and work here in Detroit through some of the leaner times, and through some of the rough times we see in some of our current neighborhoods, but as we continue to improve this is a reflection of what happens when we continue to stay the course," Reginald Scott with the Detroit Land Bank Authority said Tuesday at a press conference celebrating the milestone. 

Detroiters are using these side lots to plant flower and vegetable gardens, to create playgrounds for children and to give their neighbors a place to gather. 

More than 21,000 side lots are still available across the City of Detroit.