The City of Grand Ledge received a $323,500 grant from the Michigan Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) to rehab downtown buildings for residential space.
The grant encompasses 12 blocks in downtown Grand Ledge and is specifically designated for the rehabilitation or creation of new apartments.
“The expectation is that there will be private landlords that will be a part of the project with apartments being created above the storefronts in the downtown,” says Jon Bayless, city administrator for Grand Ledge. “We think these will primarily be along Bridge Street in the heart of downtown.”
Property owners will contribute some of their own funds to the project. Bayless says the city expects to rehab two existing units and create six new ones.
Bayless says some of the projects within the central business district will also qualify. The city first needs to identify properties that may be available for the funds and then hire a third party administrator to fulfill the grant agreement.
“We have not received a grant like this in the past,” Bayless says. “This is a new experience for us and we’re hoping to have the same kind of success downtown Eaton Rapids has enjoyed.”
Eaton Rapids has been engaged in similar rehabs for the last couple of years.
“We think it will bring more people in to live in the downtown, which is good,” he says. “When you have more people living downtown you have more activity, and we would expect that to be good for the local economy and the central business district.”
Source: Jon Bayless, City of Grand Ledge
Ivy Hughes is the managing editor of Capital Gains and can be reached here.
All Photographs © Dave Trumpie
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