Distressed Real Estate, Urban Renewal & Land Banks

The ever-increasing number of blighted, vacant, and abandoned properties imposes significant costs on communities, including lower property values, increased fire and police protection costs, decreased tax revenues, and overall harm to the social and economic well-being of the community.  In both the government and nonprofit sectors, increasing emphasis is being placed upon the importance of eliminating blight as a pathway to healthier communities. MacDonald Illig’s commitment to our region has translated into an extensive practice in the representation of the public and private institutions that are banding together to address the issue of blight.  We have helped our clients to improve neighborhoods, redevelop brownfields, and repurpose vacant or abandoned commercial and industrial buildings.  We now represent many of the major players involved in the renewal of downtown Erie.

Our clients engaged in the fight against blight include land banks, redevelopment authorities, industrial and commercial development authorities, nonprofit industrial development agencies, nonprofit neighborhood development corporations, and nonprofit and for profit corporations actively involved in the revitalization of their communities.

Effective legal representation of our clients involved in urban renewal and revitalization projects requires a particular blend of legal knowledge, political acumen, and practical experience. The attorneys of MacDonald Illig’s Government Services, Real Estate, and Banking & Finance Practice Groups are uniquely qualified to handle the many and varied challenges which must be met in order to assist our clients in building better communities through the elimination of blight and strategic rehabilitation of formerly blighted areas.