About
Our Mission
The Land Bank captures strategic real estate opportunities to benefit people with low to moderate incomes, prioritizing BIPOC+ and populations facing barriers.
Our Vision
All people in the seven-county metropolitan region of the Twin Cities have the opportunity to live and prosper in a community of their choice.
Our Territory
Our territory is made up of the following counties in Minnesota: Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, and Washington.
Our Role
Land Bank Twin Cities, Inc. is a nonprofit organization that operates as long-term civic infrastructure in the seven-county Twin Cities metropolitan region. We work at the intersection of land, capital, and community to support equitable real estate and housing outcomes.
We partner with developers, local governments, community organizations, and capital providers to remove structural barriers that prevent projects from moving forward. Our role is not to replace existing systems, but to strengthen them where timing, risk, or rigidity create gaps that limit their ability to proceed.
At the core of our work is a simple approach: We Buy Time, We Land Bank, and We Build Solutions that allow communities and projects to succeed over the long term.
How We Operate
We protect land, align capital, and create pathways for developments that serve communities over time.
In practice, this means stepping in at critical moments to buy time when traditional systems move too quickly, land bank when stewardship is required, and build solutions that align partners, capital, and long-term community outcomes. Our work focuses on acquiring land at key points, providing flexible and mission-aligned financing, and stewarding property so projects are not lost to delay, speculation, or misaligned capital.
When Intervention Matters
Land Bank Twin Cities steps in when timing matters:
- When land is at risk of being lost to speculation
- When projects stall because available financing does not match real-world conditions
- When communities need time for planning, partnerships, or capital to align
Our role is to buy time and protect opportunity until the right conditions are in place for development that serves long-term community goals.
Where This Work Happens
We work throughout the seven-county Twin Cities metropolitan region, with a focus on neighborhoods and corridors that have experienced long-term disinvestment or are facing rapid market pressure.
Our work is locally grounded, informed by community context, and shaped by the specific conditions of each place we engage.
Why This Model Exists
Equitable development often fails not because of a lack of vision, but because systems move too slowly or are too rigid.
Traditional real estate and financing structures are not designed to protect community outcomes when timing, risk, or scale fall outside standard models. Land Bank Twin Cities exists to fill that gap by buying time, stewarding land, and building solutions that ensure land and capital work for communities, not against them.
Our Operating Framework
Land Bank Twin Cities operates through three integrated pillars:
Strategic Acquisition
We acquire land and property at moments when speed matters, buying time to prevent loss of community control and preserve future development options.
Community Lending
We provide flexible, mission-aligned financing to developers and partners facing structural barriers to conventional capital, unlocking projects that would otherwise stall.
Land Banking and Stewardship
We manage and steward land over time, aligning disposition, affordability, and long-term community outcomes rather than forcing premature development.
Our Impact
Learn more about the work we do and its impact on local communities in this article from the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.
Our Staff
The Land Bank team is committed to helping you achieve your goals.
Our Board
Our Board is composed of several skilled individuals with experience from a wide range of sectors.
Our Logo
Our logo combines the imagery of a tree with an aerial view of interconnected plots of land, symbolizing growth, possibility, and our commitment to revitalizing communities.
