Newsletter: New Brownfield Funding for Housing Developments

A recent change in Michigan’s Brownfield program gives communities an unprecedented opportunity to build affordable housing and transform underutilized or abandoned property and buildings into productive spaces. The change is expected to spearhead economic activity and provide workforce housing.

A Brownfield site is a property that qualifies due to the presence of contamination, is functionally obsolete, or is blighted. The recent amendment added Housing Development to qualify a property.

Since 1996, Michigan’s Brownfield program has reimbursed developers of functionally obsolete, blighted, or contaminated properties with the new taxes generated by the projects. The program now allows taxes generated to be used for housing development projects.

Legislation was signed last year, amending the Brownfield Redevelopment Financing Act (Public Act 381 of 1996), giving the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) new authority to approve Tax Increment Financing (TIF) for housing.

The new funding supports both home ownership and rental housing projects and can be used for rehabilitation or new construction for single family or multi-family housing. The purchasers or renters must have a household income at or below 120% of Area Median Income Households.

Read the full newsletter.