LANSING – Speaker Pro Tempore Pam Byrnes (D-Lyndon Township) today announced that the city of Ann Arbor has received $850,000 in Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) grants from the Federal Housing and Economic Recovery Act to fight foreclosure and blight.
"This is great news for Ann Arbor and the surrounding areas," Byrnes said. "As foreclosure rates have increased, abandoned homes threaten to drag our neighborhoods into blight. This funding will help homeowners who want to rehabilitate and maintain these homes stay in our community."
The funding will be used to assist 16 homebuyers purchasing and rehabilitating foreclosed or abandoned single-family homes through direct homeownership assistance or housing counseling.
The city of Ann Arbor intends to target the highest priority neighborhoods that are at risk of further foreclosure and abandonment. These include: Arbor Oaks/Bryant School; Mary Beth Doyle Park; Esch Park and Woodbury Park; Mitchell/Scarlett School; Pittsfield Elementary School; Kerrytown and West Park; Hunt Park and Forsythe School; and Pontiac Trail and Traver.
The funding also will go toward the demolition of four blighted, vacant and abandoned properties by the city in an effort to promote opportunities for future development.
"Well-maintained neighborhoods reflect the strong communities we live in," Byrnes said. "It is vital that we invest in our neighborhoods so they remain areas where people want to live, work and raise a family."