Growing “Down”: BNCLT’s Property Management Transition

When you think about how to grow a Land Trust, it’s not just about how to grow “up” from the ground, it’s also about how to grow “down” below the ground.  To truly build a community-controlled alternative to affordable housing requires navigating away from ineffective structures, and building a new infrastructural foundation for our work.   

This year, BNCLT has been working closely with 2 emerging partners, Common Good Management (CGM) and Community Purchasing Alliance (CPA), to establish a new property management system that focuses on community priorities and control. CGM brings its history of working with CLTs, coops, and resident-owned mobile home communities, as well as a shared commitment to putting the community first. CPA is a partner and supporter in connecting local, values-aligned, BIPOC-owned vendors to the property management team.

With a shared focus on community models, such as CLTs, coops, and the solidarity economy, we are heading into a new era of property management that is designed to support scattered site, community-controlled, deeply affordable housing.  Fellow Boston area CLTs are interested in being a part of the partnership as we build out the model for CLTs and other community-focused entities, such as housing coops.  

Last week, our partners spent a couple of days with BNCLT and other CLTs to share visions and building blocks toward our launch early next year. The partners joined us for a tour of our buildings, and had a sober but lively conversation with our BNCLT residents to understand what they really need and desire for how we manage our properties together.