Michigan To Get $100M To Demolish Vacant Houses

LANSING (AP) – Michigan will receive $100 million from the federal government to tear down thousands of vacant houses and clean up struggling neighborhoods in Detroit and four other cities.

The pilot program to address blight was approved Thursday by the U.S. Treasury Department, according to Gov. Rick Snyder.

The money comes from the Hardest Hit Fund and will be used in Detroit, Flint, Grand Rapids, Pontiac and Saginaw. The fund was created in 2010 to help states struggling through the economic and mortgage crisis.

It isn’t clear how much money each city will receive.
Flint had more than 5,800 vacant homes and Grand Rapids over 2,700, according to estimates in the 2010 U.S. Census. Detroit has more than 30,000 vacant and abandoned houses.