ADRIAN — A lengthy application process is to blame for any type of holdup in funding attributed to state rewarded grant dollars coming to Adrian.
The city should have a better understanding of all documentation related to the state of Michigan’s MI Neighborhood grant program by mid-September, according to an update earlier this month from Jay Marks, Adrian Main Street executive director. The state’s timeline is based off the start of the new fiscal year, which is Oct. 1. As of now, Marks said, the city is amidst the paperwork phase of the funding process.
The MI Neighborhood grant program is offered to qualifying Michigan communities through the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA). Adrian is among those communities to be awarded grant funds — $475,000 worth — that are to be used for the assistance and repair of residential house projects and blighted residential properties in the city.
There are two components of the funding: $400,000 that will be available for single family, owner-occupied housing rehabilitation and $75,000 which will address placemaking efforts — enhancements located within a downtown or in an adjacent area to a downtown.
The state is using Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) dollars to fund the award.
In May, Adrian was notified it would be securing funding. The city initially applied for MSHDA’s housing rehab grant during the first week of April to address what it calls an “aging housing stock.”
More:Seeking to address ‘aging housing stock,’ Adrian applies for $475,000 in grant assistance
Sometime after September, Adrian will receive acknowledgment from the state to move forward with issuing grant dollars, which includes additional processes and procedures such as mobilizing applications, vetting the applications and determining if city applicants qualify for funding.
“It’s a lengthy application process,” Marks told the Adrian City Commission this month.
Grant funding will be available to low, moderate and middle-income households — 60-120% of Area Median Income (AMI) — for rehabilitation of existing, owner-occupied housing. The grants will be administered over a two-year period and must be used up within that time. Every incentive to utilize and promote the funds will be led by the city, as long as there is interest from residents, Adrian City Administrator Greg Elliott previously said.
Grant funding will help address housing projects from small fixes to major improvements, and from energy efficiency to accessibility improvements. This list of projects includes, but is not limited to, exterior rehabilitation; exterior rehab with an interior component; up to 25% energy efficiency including roofs, storm doors, exterior windows, doors, window insulation; modifications for modernization and efficiency purposes; along with several other housing enhancement projects.
A general area of Adrian selected for the program is primarily in the eastern and southern sections of the city bordered by Siena Heights Drive to the north, Addison Street to the east, Dawes Avenue to the south and McKenzie Street to the west, Marks detailed.
“All activities upon completion will benefit low-to-moderate income households,” he said.
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A public hearing was held earlier this month for the grant dollars with no members of the public providing feedback at the time.
The processes of the grant funds, Marks explained, will be for the rehabilitation of single-family homes up to $10,000. If repairs reach as much as $40,000, there will be a lien placed on the house for five years. At the end of the five years, that lien is forgiven.
“If they sell the house prior to that five years, they have to repay the entire $40,000,” Marks said. “So, they basically discourage people from fixing up the houses and flipping them.”
— Contact reporter Brad Heineman at [email protected] or follow him on X, formerly Twitter: twitter.com/LenaweeHeineman.
