Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Michigan Land Bank and MSHDA announce $15 Million in Blight Elimination Funding

Lansing, Mich. Feb. 20, 2013- MDHHS Director Maura Corrigan is pleased to announce that 34 municipal, township and county entities statewide will share in $15 million in funding to help eliminate blight in their communities.

The awards range from approx. $3.7 million to the Genesee County Land Bank to $10,000 awarded to the Houghton County Land Bank. All geographic regions of the state have been represented in the final funding decision.

Funding for these awards comes from a March 2012 settlement reached by 49 state attorneys general, including Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette, following a lawsuit over mortgage foreclosure practices. Among other things, the settlement resulted in payments to the states. Of Michigan's $97.2 million share, the legislature through state law allocated $25 million to the creation of a Blight Elimination Program to help communities demolish vacant and abandoned properties with the goal of promoting public safety, stabilizing property values and enhancing current and future development opportunities.

The Blight Elimination Program is a partnership between MDHHS, the Michigan Land Bank Fast Track Authority (MLB) and the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA).

Legislation authorizing this initiative allocated $10 million for demolition in the City of Detroit and $15 million for demolition projects elsewhere in Michigan. The funding for Detroit is being used to eliminate blight around select schools involved in the initial phase of the Pathways to Potential program. MDHHS, the Michigan Land Bank and MSHDA have now chosen the project areas to fund with the remaining $15 million allocated to the outstate portion of this program. More than 90 separate requests for funds were received by the state during the recent application phase.  A web page with the application procedure and FAQ's can be found at www.michigan.gov/pathwaystopotential.

"The volume of requests received clearly shows Michigan communities are serious about getting rid of blight and are willing to aggressively pursue opportunities to eliminate it," said Corrigan, also a member of the MSHDA Board of Directors. "People want to live in safe and vibrant communities. Funding these individual projects across our state will help clear the way-literally-for the reinvention of Michigan." 

Applicants for these awards were asked to provide a detailed description of their proposed project(s), including a post-demolition land use plan. They were also asked to explain in detail the anticipated benefits aimed at public safety, property value stabilization and economic development. Descriptions of local support along with additional public and private investment in the project(s) were also requested.

"The Michigan State Housing Development Authority was proud to partner in the review process with MDHHS and the MLB," said MSHDA Executive Director Scott Woosley, also a member of the MLB Fast Track Authority Board of Directors. "This effort reflects our agencies collective understanding that moving Michigan forward requires bold action. Removing blight will help revitalize cities and neighborhoods around the state and open those areas to community and economic development activity."

"The demolition of blighted and abandoned properties has a tremendous impact on the lives of the families who live near them," MLB Executive Director Kim Homan said. "The Michigan Land Bank looks forward to working closely with our partners as we continue to revitalize our communities and strengthen local economies."

Listed below are the various municipal, county and township entities that have been awarded a portion of the outstate funding. Please contact the grantees for specific details of their individual blight elimination project(s).

 

Applicant	Award Amount
Genesee County Land Bank	$3,713,240
Ingham County Land Bank	$836,850
City of Plainwell	$720,720
City of Bay City	$269,325
Charter Twp. Of Ypsilanti	$653,840
ICCF-Wealthy	$41,868
Saginaw County Land Bank	$1,784,685
Genesee County Planning Commission	$182,960
Grand Traverse County	$44,000
Marquette County Land Bank	$486,385
LIFT Foundation	$136,000
City of Manistee Housing Commission	$90,500
Village of Newberry	$180,000
Kalamazoo County Land Bank	$936,915
Northern Homes CDC	$20,000
LINC	$682,500
Reed City	$370,000
Berrien-Cass-Van Buren Michigan Works!	$740,000
City of Mt. Pleasant	$800,000
City of AuGres	$112,000
City of East Tawas	$23,000
City of Vassar	$41,158
NCCS Center for Non-Profit Housing	$70,000
Northeast Michigan Affordable Housing	$36,750
City of Coldwater	$97,000
City of Pontiac	$996,668
Houghton County Land Bank	$10,000
Village of Ravenna	$45,000
Brevort Township	$50,000
City of Muskegon	$111,500
City of Petoskey	$21,000
City of Onaway	$14,000
Village of Constantine	$10,032.12
Leelanau County Land Bank	$58,500
Total Amount:	$14,386,396.12