Mich. gets $223M for neighborhood revitalization

[MichMatters]

This money is for vacant housing almost exclusively in residential areas:

The Michigan Consortium told HUD it would buy 6,250 foreclosed, abandoned, vacant and blighted properties in these targeted areas, HUD said. Of those, 1,500 homes will be fixed up and 2,500 demolished. Another 4,650 will be set aside for land banks, so they can be sold later and not create surplus housing that depresses home values.

"Vacant homes have a debilitating effect on neighborhoods and often lead to reduced property values blight, and neighborhood decay," HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan said. "This additional $2 billion in Recovery Act funding will help stabilize hard-hit communities by turning vacant homes into affordable housing opportunities."

The Michigan State Housing Development Authority has a consortium agreement with 12 city governments that will benefit from the grants. They are Battle Creek, Benton Harbor, Detroit, Flint, Grand Rapids, Hamtramck, Highland Park, Kalamazoo, Lansing, Pontiac, Saginaw and Wyandotte.

Also aided will be eight land banks: the Calhoun County Land Bank, Berrien County Land Bank, Michigan Land Bank Fast Track Authority, Genesee County Land Bank, Wayne County Land Bank Corp., Kalamazoo County Land Bank, Ingham County Land Bank and Saginaw County Land Bank.