716-243-3996 • info@benlic.org • 403 Main Street Suite 602, Buffalo, NY 14203
Our Work
Since 2012, BENLIC has turned vacant and abandoned properties into homes and opportunity across Erie County.
210
Properties sold or transferred, 2013 to 2025 (audited counts)
$9,405,899
Property sales revenue, 2013 to 2025 (sum of audited annual figures)
107
Vacant buildings demolished with Attorney General grant funds, 2014 and 2015
52
Homes in Building Buffalo Roots (the ARPA Infill Initiative); the first 12 were completed in October 2025
2013 to 2025
Thirteen years of acquiring, restoring, building and selling, drawn from BENLIC’s annual reports and audited financial statements.
2† acquired0 sold$0 property sales
BENLIC made its first acquisitions: two tax-foreclosed properties bought at the County's 2013 auction, plus a pilot of three tax liens. The NYS Attorney General's Community Revitalization Initiative awarded $2,087,500 for demolition, rehabilitation, side lots and first staff.
18 acquired1 sold$6,311 property sales
BENLIC hired its first executive director and took in a first large batch of properties through municipal foreclosure auctions, a bank donation and its own foreclosure. Grant-funded demolitions removed 55 vacant buildings in Buffalo and 7 in Lackawanna, rehabilitation began on 8 homes, the first property was sold, and a second Attorney General grant of $2,500,000 was awarded.
15 acquired11 sold$43,715 property sales
BENLIC sold 11 properties, including six small parcels to the Town of Tonawanda. Grant funds paid for about 45 demolitions across Buffalo, Lackawanna and other Erie County towns, rehabilitation began on 11 homes, and a $10,000 Oishei Foundation grant funded the first Strategic Plan.
36 acquired11 sold$739,953 property sales
Acquisitions more than doubled and rehabilitation was under way on 30 properties. Net assets passed $2.4 million. BENLIC added a part-time building inspector and two AmeriCorps outreach planners.
38 acquired25 sold$1,015,900 property sales
A record year for sales, helped by the new Note and Mortgage program that ties buyers to required repairs (7 homes sold). A third Attorney General grant of $1,230,000 added money for rehabilitation and a first new-construction infill pilot.
40 acquired30 sold$886,155 property sales
Sales stayed strong, including 16 homes under the Note and Mortgage program. A $1,500,000 “Round 4” Attorney General grant came through Enterprise Community Partners, and BENLIC agreed a formal bid assignment with the City of Buffalo, bidding on 41 properties at the City's auction.
40 acquired37 sold$1,771,905 property sales
A record year for sales. The Note and Mortgage program was renamed Vacant to Value, two new-construction homes were finished in August and listed in September, and BENLIC hosted the New York State Land Bank Association conference with more than 80 attendees.
6 acquired23 sold$1,139,079 property sales
BENLIC kept working through COVID-19. With foreclosure auctions frozen, all 6 acquisitions came through a new property-transfer pilot with the City of Buffalo, and 23 properties were sold. A $650,000 “Round 4.2” Attorney General grant was awarded.
4 acquired21 sold$980,927 property sales
Foreclosure moratoriums nearly stopped acquisitions, so BENLIC worked down its inventory, selling 21 properties including 13 under Vacant to Value and 3 to Habitat for Humanity. Construction of 3 single-family homes on one vacant lot was completed.
34 acquired19 sold$1,441,755 property sales
BENLIC adopted a Five-Year Strategic and Financial Plan, chose a developer for the Adams Street infill project through a request for proposals, and received its first state operating support ($600,000 from the NYS HCR Land Bank Initiative). 19 properties were sold, including 3 affordable new-construction homes.
0 acquired12 sold$615,795 property sales
BENLIC took on the ARPA Infill Initiative, now Building Buffalo Roots ($23.5 Million pledged by the City of Buffalo and Erie County), and became lead developer of the 12-home Adams Street block. State Land Bank Initiative Phase II funding of $1.7 Million was secured for rehabilitation and demolition.
58 acquired15 sold$443,400 property sales
BENLIC broke ground on Adams Street in August, lined up the design and construction team for Building Buffalo Roots (the ARPA Infill Initiative), held neighborhood meetings, and demolished three buildings beyond repair. Four gut rehabilitations began with state capital funds.
0 acquired5 sold$321,004 property sales
Construction of Building Buffalo Roots (the ARPA Infill Initiative) began in April and the first 12 homes were completed in October, with 22 more under construction at year end. On Adams Street, 3 of 12 homes were finished and 9 were in progress. Total revenue of $17,163,451 is mostly grant funds ($16,842,447), largely ARPA money passed through Erie County and the City of Buffalo, not sales.
By the Numbers
Properties acquired and sold, and total revenue, for every year with published reports. Open any year’s report or financial statements to see the full detail.
| Year | Acquired | Sold | Property sales | Total revenue | Reports |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 2† | 0 | $0 | $100,040 | Annual report · Financials |
| 2014 | 18 | 1 | $6,311 | $1,231,348 | Annual report · Financials |
| 2015 | 15 | 11 | $43,715 | $1,854,034 | Real property report · Financials |
| 2016 | 36 | 11 | $739,953 | $2,671,584 | Performance report · Financials |
| 2017 | 38 | 25 | $1,015,900 | $1,697,467 | Annual report · Financials |
| 2018 | 40 | 30 | $886,155 | $2,220,063 | Annual report · Financials |
| 2019 | 40 | 37 | $1,771,905 | $2,873,873 | Annual report · Financials |
| 2020 | 6 | 23 | $1,139,079 | $2,226,519 | Annual report · Financials |
| 2021 | 4 | 21 | $980,927 | $1,598,293 | Annual report · Financials |
| 2022 | 34 | 19 | $1,441,755 | $1,643,388 | Annual report · Financials |
| 2023 | 0 | 12 | $615,795 | $873,862 | Annual report · Financials |
| 2024 | 58 | 15 | $443,400 | $2,677,407‡ | Annual report · Financials |
| 2025 | 0 | 5 | $321,004 | $17,163,451‡ | Annual report · Financials |
About these figures. Properties acquired, properties sold, property sales and total revenue come from BENLIC's audited financial statements. BENLIC's annual reports occasionally print slightly different counts or sales figures for the same year (for example 2019, 2022 and 2024), so the audited figure is shown. “Sold” means properties sold or otherwise disposed of in the year. Total revenue is grant revenue plus property sales and smaller items, so it can swing with grant timing.
† The 2013 financial statements do not state an acquisition count; the 2013 annual report lists two acquisitions. ‡ The 2024 and 2025 statements include BENLIC Development LLC, and 2025 total revenue is mostly grant funds ($16,842,447), largely ARPA money passed through Erie County and the City of Buffalo; property sales were $321,004. The 2015 and 2016 rows link to BENLIC's real property and performance reports because no annual report is posted for those years.
The totals at the top of this page add the audited figures for 2013 to 2025: 210 properties sold and $9,405,899 in property sales revenue (total revenue over the same years is $38,831,329, including grants). The demolition total adds the 62 demolitions printed in the 2014 annual report (55 in Buffalo, 7 in Lackawanna) and the 45 printed in the 2015 performance report (35 in Buffalo, 5 in Lackawanna, 5 elsewhere in Erie County). The annual reports call the American Rescue Plan Act infill program the “ARPA Infill Initiative”; it is branded Building Buffalo Roots. See all reports on Public Accountability.
What We Do
Vacant homes are rehabilitated with Attorney General and NYS Land Bank Initiative grant funds and sold to new owners. In 2025, three of four state-funded gut rehabilitations (249 East, 236 Brunswick and 702 Norfolk) were completed and 149 Northland was near completion.
Started in 2017 as the Note and Mortgage program and renamed Vacant to Value in 2019. Homes are sold to buyers who commit to an assigned scope of repairs. 13 homes were sold under the program in 2021 alone.
Attorney General grant funds removed 62 vacant buildings in Buffalo and Lackawanna in 2014 and about 45 more across Erie County in 2015. Later years focus on strategic demolitions of buildings beyond repair.
Small vacant lots are sold to neighboring owners to combine with their own property, including 10 in 2019 and 5 in 2020.
An American Rescue Plan Act program to build 52 single-family homes on formerly vacant lots in Buffalo and Cheektowaga. Construction began in April 2025 and the first 12 homes were completed in October 2025.
Learn about Building Buffalo Roots →Twelve new single-family homes on the 500 block of Adams Street. BENLIC became lead developer in 2023, broke ground in August 2024, and had 3 of the 12 homes complete at the end of 2025.
Learn about Adams Street →Real Results
149 Northland Avenue, before and after BENLIC’s rehabilitation. Every restored home strengthens the block around it.
Before
After
From Above
Recent drone photography of the streets and homes BENLIC works on.
