What Happened?
Saginaw, Michigan, is clearing away 950 blighted homes with the support of an $11.2 million federal grant. By demolishing the homes, Saginaw hopes to rebuild the community, reduce crime and improve the quality of life for residents.
The Goal
Saginaw is able to knock down the nearly 1,000 vacant homes thanks to funding from the federal government’s Hardest Hit grant program. In an effort to instill hope in residents, Saginaw officials want to wash away troubled sectors of the community and rebuild with amenities and economic growth. The process of eliminating blighted homes comes in two phases:
- Demolishing city or county-owned homes in blight. This phase involves the elimination of 400 publicly-owned homes in about five months.
- Identifying, purchasing and demolishing privately owned, vacant homes. This phase will be an ongoing process where the Saginaw County Land Bank will purchase vacant homes throughout the community.
The demolition project is projected to be completed by May 2015. The costs of the project are broken down as follows, and administrative costs will be split evenly between the city and the county land bank:
- Acquisitions: $2.4 million
- Demolitions: $7.6 million
- Administration: $475,000
- Maintenance: $712,5000
In the end, Saginaw officials hope to replace blighted homes with efficient, attractive houses and sell them back to responsible residents. The Saginaw County Land Bank is selling vacant lots at affordable prices hoping residents will reinvest in the community and work collaboratively with the local government to make improvements.
Hardest Hit Opportunities
The U.S. Department of Treasury started the Hardest Hit Fund through the TARP program to help residents in communities affected the most by the housing crisis that slashed home prices and prolonged unemployment. The fund is designed for taxpayers that have struggled with underwater mortgages as a result of the crisis and:
- Offers $7.6 billion total to 18 states most impacted by the housing crisis
- Supports locally-tailored programs to help homeowners keep their properties and avoid foreclosure
- Aids states’ Housing Finance Agency to assist unemployed homeowners meet their mortgage obligations
- Provides funding to struggling states through 2017 to turn around affected communities
Through the third quarter of 2013, the Hardest Hit Fund was supporting 66 active programs across 19 Housing Finance Agency programs. In addition:
- The Treasury Department has utilized 67.5 percent of total program funds through reinstatement and employment programs for local homeowners
- All states combined have committed $2.9 billion of their program funds or 43.6 percent of the program’s cap
- Since the third quarter of 2012, the Hardest Hit Fund has increased cumulative program fund distribution by 169 percent
- A total of 145,081 homeowners have been assisted through the program, which is an 88 percent increase since the third quarter of 2012
In Saginaw, the city and Saginaw County Land Bank filed a cooperative application for the Hardest Hit Fund grant to pay for more than 1,000 home demolitions. Saginaw is one of five cities throughout Michigan receiving funding from the Hardest Hit Fund among Detroit, Grand Rapids, Flint and Pontiac.
Grants Of All Sorts
Gov1 has reported on several federal grant programs helping reduce crime and improve transit programs locally.