Equity Trust was founded more than thirty years ago to support the growth of the still-young community land trust movement by joining technical assistance with financing provided by a revolving community loan fund – also a relatively young concept at the time. For its first decade, Equity Trust was based in Southeastern Connecticut, where important work in peace activism and social justice has long flourished. Interestingly, while the Equity Trust Fund has included a sub-fund serving Southeastern Connecticut (now called the Fund for Land Equity) for many years, it took some time before a community land trust was established in that area. Now, though, the Southeastern Connecticut Community Land Trust (SE CT CLT) is making up for lost time, establishing itself as a serious and creative land steward. In 2023 we approved two Fund for Land Equity loans to finance SE CT CLT property acquisitions.
One enabled the purchase of the CLT’s second affordable home (we also financed the first, a few years ago). It’s a four-bedroom family-sized home in a neighborhood threatened by gentrification that the SE CT CLT was able to acquire for a below-market rate due to the generosity of the previous owner, who was eager to support the community land trust homeownership model. SE CT CLT is using American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds awarded to the City of New London to perform some renovations and will soon offer the house for sale at an affordable price.
Work parties with volunteers from the nearby Coast Guard Academy and the wider New London community help to rehab the newest SE CT CLT home and prepare the grounds for the new homeowner.
The second loan really centers the “community” aspect of the CLT. It involves a partnership with the local public health authority, Ledge Light Health District (LLHD), to acquire a commercial property that has been named The Place for CommUNITY Wellbeing , or simply The Place. The property, formerly an American Legion Hall, will house community outreach programs of LLHD and its partners in the Health Improvement Collaborative of Southeastern Connecticut (HIC), including, among others, New London County Cares, a project working to reduce discrimination and barriers to well-being faced by people who use drugs, and FRESH New London, a food justice organization. LLHD’s funding sources allow for the payment of rent but not the purchase of property, so when they found a place in a neighborhood where people experience many structural barriers to accessing services to support their wellbeing, and able to house multiple programs and services and host community meetings and other events, SE CT CLT stepped up to fill the ownership role.
Celebrating the opening of The Place for CommUNITY Wellbeing
The partnership enables LLHD to immediately begin offering a daily food pantry, health advocacy services, medical clinic, community kitchen, skill-building classes, and other programs while it applies for dedicated grant funding to purchase the building. When it does, it will enter into a ground lease with SE CT CLT which will remain the permanent land steward. LLHD’s director expressed gratitude for SE CT CLT’s willingness and ability to provide stewardship, stating, “In all efforts we lead with a commitment to equity, community, and partnership. We consider the Community Land Trust a key partner in the public health system.”