Fund Used for Blight Demolition Set to Receive Billions More Under Push by Congressman Dan Kildee
Washington, DC – December 17, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — A bill expected to be passed by Congress this week includes a provision fought for by Congressman Dan Kildee (MI-05) to transfer $2 billion more into the Hardest Hit Fund (HHF), a program that has already helped to remove and repurpose thousands of abandoned properties in cities across Michigan, including Flint and Saginaw. Additionally, these new funds would have greater flexibility and could be used to make additional progress on removing blight, including past 2016, when the funds currently expire.
Senators Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters, along with a bipartisan coalition of Michigan’s congressional delegation in the House, have offered their support for this new provision in the year-end government-funding bill, expected to pass this week.
“Getting rid of abandoned properties in cities like Flint, Saginaw and Detroit helps to strengthen neighborhoods and decrease crime,” Congressman Kildee said. “We have already made great progress in removing blight from our community, and this new flexibility will help to unlock more economic opportunity for all Michiganders.”
The Hardest Hit Fund was originally designed – and is still working – to keep people in their homes and prevent additional foreclosures after the Great Recession. In recent years, thanks to Congressman Kildee’s efforts in Congress, the U.S. Treasury Department rightfully determined that removing blight in communities helps to stabilize and strengthen neighborhoods. Since 2013, Congressman Kildee has helped to secure over $200 million for Michigan cities to help get rid of large quantities of blight, including $32.7 million most recently in October. In Flint alone, nearly 2,000 run-down properties have been torn down and their land repurposed.
In a House Financial Services Committee hearing in March, Congressman Kildee spoke with U.S. Department of Treasury Secretary Jack Lew about transferring unused resources in the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) to the HHF for blight removal. Following up on that conversation, Congressman Kildee met with Treasury officials in April to push for additional federal resources. In September, Congressman Kildee also hosted a briefing on Capitol Hill focusing on federal policies that can help support cities like Flint, Saginaw and Detroit, including blight removal.
“It is invaluable to have someone in Congress like Dan Kildee who understands the need to support America’s cities,” said Jim Rokakis, the former treasurer for Cuyahoga County, Ohio, who now is the Vice President of the Western Reserve Land Conservancy. “For over a decade, it has been great to have a partner in Congressman Kildee on these important issues and now it is even better to see changes being made at the federal level to help strengthen and revitalize communities. Dan has been instrumental in getting this change to free up additional resources for blight removal in Flint and other communities.”
In July, Congressman Kildee, working with Senators Stabenow and Peters, also successfully fought back against a proposal introduced in the U.S. Senate to rescind the money allocated through the HHF and marked for Michigan blight demolitions.
Independent studies have shown that removing blight and abandonment in cities like Detroit, Flint and Saginaw leads to greater economic opportunity for communities. According to a two-year study by the Land Policy Institute at Michigan State University, $3.5 million of demolition activity in Flint unlocked $112 million in improved property values for surrounding homeowners. Additionally, by removing abandoned properties in the community, crime and arson rates are reduced.
“Since being sworn into Congress, one of my top priorities has been to secure resources and ensure cities and towns are able to remove and repurpose abandoned homes. Working with Senator Stabenow, Senator Peters and others, I am pleased that our efforts have resulted in more funds to remove blight and revitalize our communities,” Congressman Kildee said.
Congressman Kildee has an extensive background in housing policy and land use issues. In 2002, as Genesee County Treasurer, he founded the Genesee County Land Bank – Michigan’s first land bank – and served as its Chairman from 2002 until 2009. Congressman Kildee’s successful land bank model has helped to inspire over 100 other communities to start similar models to help create opportunity and foster development, including in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Syracuse, N.Y., and Fulton County, Ga. He also previously co-founded and served as the President & CEO of the Center for Community Progress, a national non-profit organization focused on supporting America’s older, industrial cities.
