Michigan Set to Receive $100 Million in Federal Funds for Demolitions

Michigan is set to have $100 million in federal funds freed up to help demolish vacant homes in Flint, Detroit, Pontiac, Saginaw and Grand Rapids.

According to the Detroit News, an announcement could come as soon as today. The funds would come from dollars previously allocated for mortgage relief that had been approved to target neighborhoods with abandoned and burned-out homes.

That program is part of the Troubled Asset Relief Program that was launched in 2010 to help unemployed homeowners stay in their houses and help families with underwater mortgages.

Much of the $7.6 billion, known as the Hardest Hit Fund, has gone unspent prompting lawmakers to free up the funds for neighborhood revitalization. Freshman Congressman Dan Kildee, D-Flint, has made securing the money a top priority. He has worked with Treasury Department officials and has argued the failure to demolish buildings imposes severe social and economic costs on neighborhoods.