Mich. gets $223M for neighborhood revitalization

[mjs]

For that price, they're generally not talking about high rises. Part of why it costs so much to tear down a structure is that it has to be stripped before the bulldozer comes in. Manpower intensive means more jobs per government dollar. So, as far as stimulus spending goes, its very good because it actually fulfills their objective.

Many of these properties also have tax liens which often, but not always, get written off in these cases. They have utility leins which usually don't. They have mortgages which Wayne County can and hopefully does avoid through blight foreclosure, but not everywhere has Detroit's blight statutes.

Finally, there's a cost of clearing title on all of the properties so it can be sold. Its not at all unusual for Detroit properties to have a negative net worth which forever blocks their sales which essentially keeps them off the tax rosters forever. The county exec is fixing this through their blight division and municipalities are forming land banks, but it has a cost.

[Blueidone]

Of the $223 million Detroit will get $41 million. Dave Bind says they will focus efforts on Herman Gardens, East Village, and southwest Detroit.

http://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/in...ists_with.html

Aren't these areas already part of an enterprise zone where there are existing tax breaks and such? Why not use this money in the areas that don't already have tax incentives? There are still areas of the City that need help...for instance the area around Georgia Street.

[MichMatters]

According to the News, here is where the demolitions and rehabs will be concentrated:



The story also has a side-story about how Bing has no plans to use stimulus money to demolish MCS.

BTW, they keep leveling everything in the neighborhood grouping they've labeled "Kettering" and quite literally there won't be anything left.

Detroit --The city has spent nearly $50 million since 2004 demolishing buildings owners have left to rot, but weak collection efforts have largely left taxpayers stuck with the bill, Detroit officials acknowledge.

But Mayor Dave Bing says he's about to get tough, promising to sue walkaway owners or sic collection agencies on them. After years of failing even to send bills for costs, the city soon plans to begin filing suits against the owners of the 40 most expensive demolitions of the past six years, mostly apartments or businesses, which run more than $25,000 apiece.


...

Henderson, whom Bing appointed in July after she worked for the city of Ann Arbor, said the city has never even sent bills to owners for demolitions, preferring instead to file liens that are rolled into property taxes. But owners often stop paying taxes when houses are torn down, leading to foreclosures and perpetuating a cycle of blight.


Henderson said the new system -- to start in February -- would send property owners invoices for work. If they don't pay after 90 days, collection agencies working for commissions would pursue the debt. If the debt is big enough, Henderson said the law department could get involved and file a lawsuit.


She acknowledged the city will recoup only part of the $50 million, but she said even that could fund more demolitions.


Her plans were considered under past administrations but never implemented, said Amru Meah, the past department director who retired last spring. He said he pushed city lawyers to file lawsuits, but the staff wasn't able to do the work.


"Until the law department is ready to dedicate some staff to this, I just don't see it as a solution," Meah said.




...