State Gets Another $75 Million to Fight Blight

Michigan will use $75 million in federal funding to fight blight that has driven down property values and quashed growth in a dozen cities.

The plans developed by the Michigan State Housing Development Authority were approved last week by the U.S. Treasury Department, the Detroit Free Press reports. The program will fund work in Detroit, Ecorse, Hamtramck, Highland Park, Inkster and River Rouge in Wayne County, as well as in Adrian, Ironwood, Jackson, Lansing, Muskegon Heights and Port Huron.

Housing vacancy rates were among the factors considered by the MSHDA in choosing the participating cities.

The money was carved out of a $498 million allocation to Michigan as part of the Treasury Department’s “Hardest Hit Fund,” which provides assistance to states that suffered the most during the housing crisis. The money will be used to help homeowners avoid foreclosures, stabilize property values and other revitalization efforts.

In 2013, the federal government approved MSHDA’s request to used $100 from the same fund for blight elimination efforts in Detroit, Flint, Saginaw, Grand Rapids and Pontiac.

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