Transformative Real Estate
The Problem
Corporate ownership of land and housing is rising fast — especially in BIPOC communities.
This means more people locked out of homeownership, stuck in overpriced rentals, and watching wealth drain out of our neighborhoods into corporate hands.
This isn’t new — it’s rooted in a long history of land theft, redlining, and disinvestment in Black and Brown communities.
Our Response
Richmond LAND flips the script.
We reclaim the real estate process — and put it back in community hands.
We work with residents to collectively own and steward land for community good — not profit.
We take homes and properties out of the speculative market and place them in trust, so they stay affordable, accessible, and community-controlled — forever.
And we invest in local leadership — building resident power to plan, develop, and protect what’s ours.
Because land is power — and it’s time we held it.
Richmond LAND’s transformative real estate work is reshaping neighborhoods by turning underutilized and blighted properties into vibrant, community-centered spaces. Through initiatives like the North Richmond Ecovillage and shared-equity housing projects, Richmond LAND combines affordable housing, resident-led development, and environmental stewardship to create lasting social and economic impact. Each project is designed not only to provide quality homes but also to empower local residents, build wealth, and strengthen community ties, demonstrating how real estate can be a powerful tool for equity and neighborhood revitalization.
Project Pipeline: Tools for Acquisitions
Richmond LAND built the infrastructure needed to evaluate and pursue community-led housing opportunities more effectively. We developed a suite of acquisition and asset management tools, including a ground lease template, repair reserve policy, and resale formula, ensuring that every project reflects our shared equity values. Staff finalized the organization’s Project Priorities list, creating clear criteria for assessing future acquisitions and member proposals.
Homebuyer Initiative: Shared Equity Housing Program
Richmond LAND is developing the structure of its Shared Equity Housing Program, an affordable homeownership initiative that will create lasting opportunities for working-class and long-time Richmond residents. Through this program, Richmond LAND plans to acquire, rehabilitate, and sell homes at below-market prices to income-qualified buyers, using a 99-year renewable ground lease to ensure long-term stewardship of the land and permanent affordability. Although the program is still in development, Richmond LAND established clear program guidelines and is currently exploring partnerships with local developers.
Richmond LAND staff is currently working to establish the program’s acquisition strategies and roll out. This groundwork lays the foundation for a future homeownership program that will increase neighborhood stability, prevent displacement, and build community wealth.
The community land trust model must be operationalized to actively shift land from the extractive profit-driven model to a decommodification model that prioritizes permanent stability, collective governance and developing community assets. That requires creating the governance, financial, operational and membership structures that can hold a portfolio of land and housing projects that can be resilient and sustained in perpetuity. Implementing land management and development practices that shifts residents from being marginalized by market forces but instead centers residents as decisionmakers and empowers residents to change the conditions of their neighborhood. There are a wide range of strategies and tactics that support the decommodification of land and housing. Our agenda is to resist the dominant real estate market practices by unlocking land sites to be used for affordable, healthy homes and other forms of community benefits for generations to come.
RICHMOND LAND’S TRANSFORMATIVE REAL ESTATE FRAMEWORK GOALS:
LAND STEWARDSHIP AND ASSET MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK
PRODUCTION OF PERMANENT AFFORDABLE HOUSING
PRESERVATION OF LAND AND PROPERTY
