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Chicago is selling vacant lots for $1 each...but there's a catch

4,000 vacant lots on sale in Chicago for $1 each.
CHICAGO, IL – MAY 31: A ‘For Sale’ sign stands in front of a vacant lot May 31, 2011 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Chicago is selling more than 4,000, city-owned lots for the low price of US$1 each.

The sale will include parcels of land from across the city’s South and West sides, starting on Tuesday, according to the Chicago Tribune.

But there’s a catch and a good cause.

The land, which is being sold through Chicago’s Large Lots program, will only be available to eligible buyers who own property on the same block, have paid their property taxes and have no outstanding debts with the city. The aim is to get locals to make improvements to the land for the benefit of their neighbours.

“The Large Lots Program turns vacant lots into neighbourhood assets that benefit neighbours and communities,” Mayor Rahm Emanuel said in a press release.

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“This program’s success is driven by people who are committed to strengthening their communities block by block, and this expansion will create opportunities to strengthen neighbourhoods through the entire city of Chicago.”

The program, which was launched in 2014, was developed as a means to curtail the spread of vacant lots across the city by turning them into gardens and other community beautification projects.

Over its duration, more than 550 lots have been sold.

New owners of the vacant lots are required to maintain them, pay property taxes and hold on to them for at least five years.

Wlliam Stewart, a professor at the University of Illinois and co-author of a study of of more than 400 lots sold through the program, told the Chicago Tribune that it works because locals are invested in their neighbourhoods.

“The people who are there care about those neighbourhoods,” Stewart said.

“This program gives them the opportunity to express their care for the neighbourhood in growing green infrastructure, in creating places for children and families, and in making it more beautiful.”

The study found 40 per cent of new owners made improvements, such as planting, turf renovations and garbage cleanup, in the first year.

Locals also reported a less undesirable activity including, public urination, prostitution, dumping and drugs.

Chicago is home to more than 20,000 vacant lots in total, with about 13,000 of them belonging to the city.

This is happening all while real estate prices soar, as housing supply has struggled to keep up with demand. The price of a home in Chicago has gone up more than 3.8 per cent over the past year, according to Zillow, and is expected to rise another 2.7 per cent next year.

The current median home value in the city is $210,100.