City of Louisville adds 2 vacant lots in the Russell neighborhood to Landbank list

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — The City of Louisville added two new lots to the city's Landbank list Monday, hoping to turn the vacant properties into thriving homes.

The Landbank Authority takes abandoned and vacant properties across the city and finds new owners to bring the land back to life. Most Landbank properties are sold for as little as $1.

A hopeful owner is right next door to the two new lots added in the Russell neighborhood.

"I kind of like this empty space right here," said LaChara Smith, who lives right next to the two empty lots.

Smith said they were vacant long before she and her kids moved into the neighborhood, and that there is not much green space left in the area.

“Because my kids can run up and through here," said Smith.

The two lots, 438 and 440 South 18th Street are the newest additions to Louisville's Landbank. Right next to the empty lots used by Smith's kids is a parking lot, also owned by the Landbank, and the city could combine all three lots for a larger development.

“So you can put thousands of people in here in the community but if those people are not making the right decisions in helping the community get better then you are still stuck with a crappy community ya know,” Smith said.

Right now, the Landbank owns close to 350 properties, most are west of 9th Street. That number is down significantly from three years ago when the city had more than 600 properties in the Landbank.

Smith is renting her house and hopes to be a homeowner soon.

“With this program, I have a chance to become a homeowner,” Smith said, who attends homeowner classes through a city-sponsored program.

“If the housing partnership buys those lots and builds another house that would be lovely, I like what they do, they help people buy houses," Smith said.

Smith said she would love to be the person to move her family into a house, preferably in the neighborhood.

Related Stories: