Land is an important natural resource, serving as the literal bedrock for developing countries, tackling poverty by providing food security and export dividends. Protracted social conflict, however, may lead to decades in which land is underused, destroyed, or changes hands in both legal and illegal ways, often related directly to power asymmetries of the conflict actors. When peace finally comes, part of social reconstruction may involve restituting that land to its rightful owners. Post-conflict reconstruction necessitates rapid attention to agricultural production and resource extraction to spur development and economic growth, which in turn may help to prevent renewed conflict. This paper presents the preliminary results of a pilot study conducted on the land restitution process in Colombia. It looks particularly at the impact of land restitution on three inter-related goals in peacebuilding: security, development and transitional justice. Conducted in October 2014 with the first communities who were returned to their land in Cordoba, the pilot study included interviews with the main actors involved in the land restitution. Participants ranged from international organizations to the Unit of Land Restitution in Bogotá to regional judges who ruled on land restitution to local communities that have received land and those awaiting the final legal decision. Preliminary results demonstrate the challenges to the Colombian land restitution process at all levels, particularly within the context of peacebuilding amidst ongoing violence.