A grant available to Hillsdale residents who are seeking to resolve property blight violations has been extended until May.
The grant, which was offered by the Michigan State Housing Development Authority as part of its Neighborhood Enhancement Program back in February 2020, gives the city $30,000 to distribute to citizens who qualify. The city will cover up to $6,000 of the cost of home improvement projects.
Due to COVID-19, MSHDA extended the grant past its original deadline of August 2020. The city of Hillsdale was recently notified that all of the checks must be issued no later than September 30, 2021.
“We have put a deadline on any additional applications for May first, because of that,” said Alan Beeker, Hillsdale’s zoning administrator.
The requirements and the distribution of the grant money are based on past successes with similar grants the City has received.
“We used a program that we’ve been using very successfully in our downtown Tax Increment Finance Authority district to create guidelines for this new grant,” said Beeker.
To qualify, residents are required to complete the project, provide evidence of payment, and the project must be inspected. The projects are expected to be completed by August 31, 2021, said Kelly LoPresto, Hillsdale’s economic development coordinator.
Despite being based on similar grants, this is the first time anything like this has been available in Hillsdale.
“This is all brand new to us, it actually has been around in the state of Michigan for 15 years, but this is the first time that we were made aware of it, applied for it, and were given funds to distribute,” said Beeker.
The grant is intended to help Hillsdale residents who have received blight violation notices from Hillsdale’s Code Enforcement.
“It helps improve homes that are tired and worn and need some assistance, both for the resident who owns the home, and for the city as a whole, and their neighbors,” said David Mackie, the city manager.
According to MSHDA’s website, the grant is aimed to help middle and low-income households improve their neighborhoods.
“We tried to receive this grant to try and help some of our local neighborhood residents improve their homes, some of those that might be in fixed incomes, or below the poverty level,” said Mackie.
The program has seen mixed success in Hillsdale and currently has three applicants pending approval and one approved applicant.
“We would have liked to see more applicants, but this is the first time that we’ve done this, so I would say that four people, and maybe we’ll get some more, would be somewhat successful. We would like to get as many people helped as we can,” said Mackie.
The MSHDA grant is offered annually, with grants for 2022 being awarded in August of 2021. The city of Hillsdale is planning on applying for these grants.
“Depending on how we finish out the year, if we’ve got others who have expressed interest, we would probably want to reapply for another grant to see if we can assist more folks,” said Mackie.
