The next round of funding for the Chautauqua County Land Bank Corp. should be happening shortly.

On Wednesday, Gina Paradis, county land bank executive director, said land bank officials should be hearing about the fourth round of funding from the Office of Attorney General for state land banks this week. She said the county land bank applied for $1.9 million, with the most it could ask for being $2 million.

“It would be huge for us if we got it,” she said.

The competition for the funding from the Attorney General’s Office has increased since the first award was received by the county land bank in 2013. Paradis said 25 state land banks applied for funding in round four. She said less than 10 state land banks applied for funding in 2013. She said during round three, about 18 state land banks applied for funding.

Last year, the county land bank received $1.1 million during the third round of funding from the state Attorney General’s Office. During the first round of funding in 2013, the county received $1.5 million. During the second round of funding in 2014, the county received $1.3 million.

Through the first three rounds of funding from the state Attorney General’s Office, the state has made a total investment of $57 million in land banks throughout the state since 2013. The funding for state land banks has been secured through settlements from the nation’s largest banks over misconduct that contributed to the housing crisis.

Paradis said the funding from the fourth round will be for 2019 and 2020. She said the awarding of the fourth round is coming at an appropriate time for the county land bank. She added that the county land bank will have spent all of its third round funding by the end of this year.

“We are moving at such a pace we will be spent down by the end of the year,” she said. “(The state) trying to make funding seamless is really important for us this year.”

The county land bank uses funding to purchase properties for its Rehabs 4 Sale program and to demolish condemned properties throughout the county.

In other land bank business, the board approved three property dispositions. One of the dispositions was a property on Armadillo Street in Dunkirk. Paradis said this property was very popular, with 10 proposals made to renovate and purchase the property. She said the proposal the board selected was from a developer the county land bank had worked with before.

“We are confident in the decision because the purchaser is someone the board choose was someone who renovated a house with us previously,” she said. “Him and his family have made several investments in making over that neighborhood, and they are living in (the houses). We are confident they will do a nice makeover and will be living there too, and they will be an invested community member.”

Another property approved for disposition is located on Babcock Street in Silver Creek. Paradis said the developer is Chautauqua Area Habitat for Humanity. She said the proposal is for two structures, with one to be demolished by land bank officials while the other house will be renovated by Habitat for Humanity officials.