Community Development Programs

Technical Assistance

Michigan Main Street

Michigan Main Street (MMS) assists communities interested in revitalizing and preserving their traditional commercial district.

Redevelopment Ready Communities

Redevelopment Ready Communities® (RRC) is available to communities across the state. It’s a voluntary, no-cost toolkit designed to promote effective redevelopment strategies through achieving a set of best practices.

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Resiliency

Many disasters, such as a pandemic, are disasters that ignore political boundaries and regional collaborative approaches are necessary. Yet the changes needed to move toward recovery happen fastest at the local level. This section explores strategies and ideas for recovery from disasters.

Developer Toolkit

This toolkit provides resources and awareness for individuals wanting to step foot into the real estate world and has been built to ensure there is equal access to MEDC community development programs and services.

Permit Ready Housing Plans

The Permit Ready Housing Plans offer a series of proposed housing layouts, designs, and densities for the construction of duplex, and quadraplex residential development.

Incentive Programs

Revitalization and Placemaking (RAP) program

This program supports investments that will repurpose vacant, underutilized, blighted or historic buildings and place-based infrastructure.

Build MI Community

This initiative serves real estate entrepreneurs and provides access to real estate development gap financing for incremental redevelopment projects.

Match on Main

Match on Main is a reimbursement grant program that serves as a tool to support new or expanding place-based businesses by providing up to $25,000 in funding to support an eligible small business.

Michigan Community Revitalization Program

MCRP promotes community revitalization through the provision of grants, loans or other economic assistance for eligible projects located on properties that are either contaminated (facility), blighted, functionally obsolete or historic resources.

Community Development Block Grant

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development allocates CDBG funding to the State of Michigan for further distribution to eligible Units of General Local Government in support of economic or community development projects.

Brownfield Incentives and Programs

Brownfield Programs help develop walkable communities with historical architecture, provide support for mixed-use developments, help activate public spaces, and enrich arts and cultural amenities – offering a place where talented and innovative people want to live, and businesses want to grow, expand and invest.

Public Spaces Community Places

PSCP is a crowd-granting initiative provides matching grants for crowdfunded public space projects through Patronicity, an online, crowdfunding platform.

Michigan Talent Partnership Program

The MTP is a grant program aiming to invest state funding in public space development projects to increase density, walkability, and vibrancy in Michigan’s central cities to attract and retain talent and create business ownership opportunities for local residents.

Community Development Fact Sheets - Commercial

Business Improvement District / Principal Shopping

Through the provisions of Public Act 120 of 1961, cities, villages, and urban townships may create a Business Improvement District (BID) or a Principal Shopping District
(PSD) to promote economic development within a defined area of the municipality.

Commercial Redevelopment Act

Public Act 255 of 1978, as amended, encourages the replacement, restoration and new construction of commercial property by abating the property taxes generated from new investment for a period up to 12 years.

Commercial Rehabilitation Act

Public Act 210 of 2005, as amended, encourages the rehabilitation of commercial property by abating the property taxes generated from new investment for a period up to 10 years.

Obsolete Property Rehabilitation Act

The Obsolete Property Rehabilitation Act (OPRA), Public Act 146 of 2000, provides for a tax incentive to encourage the redevelopment of obsolete buildings.

Opportunity Zone

Opportunity Zones are an outcome of the 2017 Federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and are set to expire at the end of 2026 unless Congress acts to extend the program. The program provides tax incentives for investment of patient capital into development projects and businesses in qualified low-income census tracts that have experienced a lack of capital investment and business growth.

Community Development Fact Sheets - Communities

Conditional Land Use Transfer

Public Act 425 of 1984, as amended, is the conditional land use transfer statute that allows two or more municipalities the option of conditionally transferring land to one another.

Core Communities

The incentives, unique to core communities, target critical needs of older communities
through new housing development, redevelopment of obsolete facilities and development of contaminated properties.

Corridor Improvement Authority

The Corridor Improvement Authority (CIA), Public Act 57 of 2018, Part 6, is designed to assist communities with funding improvements in commercial corridors outside of their main commercial or downtown areas.

Downtown Development Authority

The DDA provides for a variety of funding options including a tax increment financing mechanism, which can be used to fund public improvements in the downtown district and the ability to levy a limited millage to address administrative expenses.

Local Development Finance Authority

The Local Development Finance Authority (LDFA), Public Act 57 of 2018, allows eligible entities to establish area boundaries, create and implement a development plan, acquire and dispose of interests in real and personal property, issue bonds and
use tax increment financing to fund public infrastructure improvements for eligible property.

Neighborhood Improvement Authority

Through the provisions of Public Act 57 or 2018, a Neighborhood Improvement Authority (NIA) may be established. An NIA may use its funds, including tax increment financing, to fund residential and economic growth in residential neighborhoods.

Redevelopment Liquor Licenses

Through the provisions of Public Act 16 of 2022, the Liquor Control Commission (LCC) may issue new public on premises liquor licenses to local units of government.

Neighborhood Enterprise Zone

The Neighborhood Enterprise Zone (NEZ) Program was established by Public Act 147 of 1992, as amended. The program provides a tax incentive for the development and rehabilitation of residential housing.

Community Development Tools

Building Strong Communities