Grain Collective is part of the team selected to collaborate with SoBRO to prepare a community planning and real estate development guide and website. This website assists community-based organizations (CBOs) plan and redevelop vacant or underutilized land in their neighborhoods.

It contains information on:
OER’s new Community Grants for CBOs;
all other OER grants;
16 strategies and 24 case studies that show how community developers overcame planning and redevelopment challenges in their neighborhoods;
500 remedial action projects in the NYC Voluntary Cleanup Program; and
Place-based community brownfield planning in two dozen NYC neighborhoods.

Many community based organizations (CBO) lack real estate development experience especially when building on vacant contaminated land. The section on Development provides potential solutions to many real estate development challenges that community developers face. Written by and for CBOs, it contains 16 strategies and 24 case studies on how CBOs have built relationships with private landowners, become partners with real estate professionals, and built relationships with public agencies to advance their neighborhood plans and development projects. These strategies and case studies are based on extensive research and interviews conducted by SoBRO and New Partners for Community Revitalization.

The website can be accessed at the following location: http://www1.nyc.gov/site/oercommunity/index.page