Michigan Development News, 12/17/08
Model D: $60K in down-payment assistance available for Grandmont Rosedale’s new houses. Some exciting news from one of our new borrowers:
Grandmont Rosedale Development Corp.has sold one of the three homes it constructed this year, and a new program means that potential buyers of the two remaining now have even more incentive to do so. In partnership with the city, the organization is now able to offer buyers up to $60,000 of down payment assistance towards purchasing a home. “Someone that could get a mortgage for $55,000 could potentially buy one of these homes,” executive director Tom Goddeeris says. “It opens up the possibility.” [...]
The construction cost of each home cost $180,000, and the starting sales price is $110,000 before the down payment assistance. Subsidies were provided by City of Detroit HOME funds and Community Development Block Grant dollars and the Development Corporation of Wayne County. Construction loans were provided by theMichigan Interfaith Trust Fund and Detroit LISC.
LSJ: Food bank needs your help. In tough times like these, food banks are more important than ever. To find a food bank in your area, visit www.fbcmich.org.
Two million pounds of food.
It’s an image most of us can’t even fathom. Yet that’s how much food the Greater Lansing Food Bank distributes each year to the hungry in Ingham, Eaton and Clinton counties. Nearly half of those the Food Bank helps are children. Others include the elderly, those on fixed incomes, the working poor, and those who have unexpectedly fallen on hard times. And as the weather grows colder, unemployment rises, and the economy grows more perilous, the need is growing more acute.
As you go about your holiday shopping and celebrations, we ask that you once again consider a donation to the Greater Lansing Food Bank. Few gifts you can give have such power to change lives. Just $60 will feed a family of four for six days; $120 will feed that same family for two weeks. But every dollar you give helps. And every dollar stays right here in our community.
WILX: Dewitt Community Build Helps Courter Family. Here’s a great story about a mid-Michigan community that came together to build a house for a local family that lost their home at Christmastime three years ago. Hop over to the Channel 10 website to watch the full video clip.
It’s the building blocks of new future for Ted Courter, his wife and four children, after the community replaced their farmhouse with a five bedroom dream home built from the ground up; a Christmas gift that keeps on giving.
“The kids can all play, and we have space to sit and talk in one room,” said Ted Courter.
The home features a roll-in shower, a lift in the master bedroom, and an elevator, there’s even a special spot in the basement to hang their children’s art work.
In the old farm house the four children had to share rooms, now they each have their own room and they hand-picked a color scheme and a mural to match.
“I love my room, I can’t wait to have Christmas to spend it with my family,” said Monica Courter.
Community members toured the new home Saturday, leaving cards and signing the basement floor, a message of hope for the future.
“It’s just incredibly, the out-pouring from the greater Lansing community that we’ve experienced,” said Cindy Reisig, Dewitt Community Build Coordinator.
Capital Gains: Williamston-based Printer Working With National Greeting Card Industry. Last year the Trust Fund made a loan to a local theatre in Williamston, and we’ve been keeping tabs on the city ever since:
Williamston-based Wendy Shaft Block Printed Images and Limner Press are celebrating a year of success with the national greeting card industry.
Wendy Shaft, owner of Wendy Shaft Block Printed Images and her husband, Don Bixler, own Limner Press and signed a contract with national Collage Greetings last September. They now produce letterpress cards for the company, a partnership that’s given Shaft and Bixler a national presence.
“They picked us up nationally last September and it’s still going pretty good,” Bixler says. [...]
“I actually like it,” he says. “I’ve spent most of my adult life in bigger cities and I really like the close business community that’s out here. I like having the ability, if I want something, for the most part, being able to walk right up the street to get it.”
The move is working out well for Bixler who says he likes living in small town Michigan.
Michigan Development News, 12/8/08
Battle Creek Enquirer: Area economists abuzz about downtown B.C. development. Big changes are coming to the Cereal City:
Plans to create a new downtown for Battle Creek have area economic experts focused on the Cereal City and the outlook, they say, is promising. Kellogg Co. this week announced plans to build a new $22.5 million office building downtown, part of an $85 million downtown revitalization and food research recruitment effort.
That plan includes infrastructure improvements and beautification projects to encourage people to eat, shop and live downtown.
“I totally agree with BCU’s plan. Downtowns are vital and a downtown is the signature of a city,” said George Erickcek, a senior regional analyst for the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research. “When you look at areas in the state that are struggling, like Detroit and Flint, they are struggling with the image of having a downtown that has been abandoned.” [...]
“Once they have a chance to breathe, the next step should be developing a vibrant residential community. It’s great to have these big companies here, but does it finish the job? No,” Erickcek said. “Those employees drive in the morning and drive out at night. There needs to be residential development, like what we see in Grand Rapids, so people are on the streets 24/7.”
Ann Arbor News: New affordable housing planned for North Main. Some exciting news from a longtime Trust Fund borrower:
Avalon Housing is planning to raze several houses and build a multi-story affordable housing complex on Ann Arbor’s North Main Street, a high-traffic part of town that is the city’s northern gateway.
The plan, proposed for the east side of Main between Felch and Summit streets, calls for 60 one-bedroom units of affordable housing with a possibility of retail presence.
The housing will be a third supportive housing, for special-needs clients, and 65 percent “workforce” housing – people who make roughly 30 percent to 60 percent of the area’s median income, according to a city planning department memo and the project’s developers. [...]
“It’s a neat opportunity for us to provide affordable housing downtown,” said Avalon Executive Director Mike Appel. The plan would significantly add to the non-profit’s cache of 180 units.
Godfrey said the group hoped to submit a site plan by Dec. 29, and if the planning process goes smoothly, to break ground in fall of 2009 and complete construction in 2010.
Eaton Rapids Community News: Advertising Eaton Rapids’ charm. The folks in E.R. are anxious to get the word out about their town as a great place to live and work:
EATON RAPIDS — We know it’s small. And charming. But does the rest of the world?
Such is the thinking behind an alliance that has conducted focus groups, aired commercials and erected billboards aimed at promoting the many good things to be found in the Eaton Rapids area.
According to Gary Wichman — who spearheaded the formation of what is loosely termed the “Eaton Rapids Marketing Alliance” — the idea is to gather community stakeholders and utilize a variety of resources to get the word out. [...]
Initially, a big part of the marketing effort was designed to tie in with economic growth “momentum” the city was experiencing last year — including the expansion of Dowding Industries and good news coming out of Von Weise.
Thus, another marketing piece is a full-color “marketing booklet” that Wichman said was designed to be given out to incoming employees.
“As new jobs were created, we felt we needed a strategy where folks would not only be employed in Eaton Rapids but also take up residence here.”
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