Lansing area could get $3.5 million for new or repaired housing units

Correction: Emma Henry is the executive director of the Capital Area Housing Partnership. Her title was incorrect in an earlier version of this story.

LANSING — The new MI Neighborhood grant program, with $60 million a year, could help Lansing area homeowners and developers fix up broken homes and build new ones.

The Lansing area is expected to get about $3.5 million of that grant money to help some of its estimated 7,500 homes that are in significant need of repairs, state officials announced Monday.

The money could also be used for new housing developments.

Local leaders including Lansing Mayor Andy Schor gathered Monday at the Neighborhood Empowerment Center in Lansing to announce the new grant program with 15 eligible regions including the capital city.

"Organizations like us make sure we can get the dollars into the community," said Emma Henry, executive director of the Capital Area Housing Partnership, which is the local housing agency for Ingham, Eaton and Clinton counties.

Individuals cannot directly apply for the grant money but they can reach out to their local housing agencies, she said. Those agencies can guide homeowners through the application and income verification processes and submit the grant applications on behalf of homeowners, builders and those working with contractors.

The group gets calls daily from people who need a new roof or struggle to make mortgage payments, she said.

The application process for the grants opened Monday. The applications will be ranked by state officials, using criteria from each of the 15 eligible regions.

“We need to build more new homes, rehabilitate more of our older homes, and make targeted investments in improving our neighborhoods – that’s exactly what MI Neighborhood is going to help us do,” Schor said in a release. “I’m grateful for strong leadership at MSHDA that’s helping transform the way our state government works with local partners. Together we’re going to solve the housing crisis. Let’s get it done.”

Those with up to two new units can qualify for up to $200,000; intermediate applicants, with three or four units, up to $400,000; and larger developments, up to $2 million.

The new grant money is part of the state budget. Another $60 million will be included in the fiscal year that starts in October.

Contact Mike Ellis at mellis@lsj.com or 517-267-0415

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Lansing area could get $3.5 million for new or repaired housing units