09/14/2026
By the early 2000s, new commercial investment was beginning to return to East Liberty. But the residential neighborhoods were still full of vacant, abandoned, and deteriorating properties that contributed to blight, crime, and continued disinvestment.
And in 2002, ELDI controlled just four residential properties. That was a problem because the community’s vision called for something much bigger: a diverse, mixed-income neighborhood where low- to moderate-income families, as well as middle- and upper-income families, had opportunities to buy quality homes.
Addressing a handful of properties at a time wasn’t going to get us there.
So, with support from local foundations and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, we began acquiring properties at an unprecedented scale for a community development corporation—eventually taking on nearly 200 vacant and blighted properties, representing more than 10% of all properties in East Liberty.
It was a bold move, especially at a time when many East Liberty homes cost more to renovate than they were worth.
To make the strategy work, we developed a four-part approach: “Test Drives, Flips, Targets, and Mothballs.”
🏠 Test Drives: Homes in good condition were rented to prospective buyers interested in getting to know the neighborhood.
🏠 Flips: Homes in fair condition received moderate improvements before being sold.
🏠 Targets: Properties in poor condition received major renovations and were returned to use as move-in-ready homes.
🏠 Mothballs: Properties that weren’t yet financially feasible to renovate were secured and maintained until redevelopment made sense, sometimes for 10 to 15 years.
With support from the City and other partners, that strategy gave us a way to work at the scale of the challenge while holding onto properties for the community’s long-term vision.
Over time, many of those vacant and deteriorating properties became opportunities for new and rehabilitated homes, helping stabilize residential blocks and move East Liberty closer to the mixed-income neighborhood residents had envisioned.
➡ Want to learn more? Read the full story in our impact report: https://www.eastliberty.org/2023-impact-report
