A GEM or an albatross?

Beginning in 2004, Norfolk acquired small vacant lots throughout the city. A total of 457 such lots – narrow and odd-shaped ones too small for building on – were seized and they now represent about 25% of the property that the city owns.

According to an article in Sunday’s Virginian Pilot, the property was put in a program called GEM – “not an acronym, but rather a description of the jewels the city hoped to create.” Unfortunately, that hasn’t been happening.

Norfolk hasn’t sold a single property in the past two years, despite a list of willing buyers. The city also has been stuck with maintaining more than 450 parcels, none of which creates tax revenue.

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A growing number of angry developers and residents eager to purchase properties complain that the city has dragged its feet.

I can understand the city wanting to acquire some of these lots for future expansion plans. And I understand that some of the lots simply are not salable. But for the most part, it appears that the city has failed to act to dispose of the lots – and get them back on the tax rolls – in a reasonable time frame.

…staffers in the design center have examined more than 50 applications and have recommended that the City Council approve most of them.

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The city’s Redevelopment and Housing Authority has asked for more than two years to buy lots in Park Place that, when combined with other properties the agency owns, could be used to build about a dozen new homes. NRHA’s project alone would add roughly $25,000 to city real estate tax revenues each year.

But the agency’s request has sat waiting for council approval for 14 months.

And why would that be?

“It’s a busy world, and quite frankly, I haven’t had the time,” Assistant City Manager Stanley Stein said last week.

Haven’t had time or was getting rid of the lots not a priority? With the real estate boom having come and gone, I have to wonder how much revenue the city lost by not getting rid of these lots sooner. And given the current economic climate, I have to wonder what the city will receive if and when they are sold. These lots – 351 of them have been deemed salable – are costing us money, both in terms of revenue lost and expenses to maintain. The lots are less of a GEM than they are an albatross to the citizens of Norfolk. It’s time to get moving on getting them sold.