downtown apartments get facelift money from city
Rental Rehabilitation program to give renovation grants; off-campus housing options expand
Michal Elseth
Issue date: 10/8/09 Section: News
Hillsdale College students should have several more off-campus housing options in the next year or so, thanks to the Rental Rehabilitation program, a project of the Michigan State Housing Development Authority.
Several building owners in downtown Hillsdale will soon receive money for creating or renovating rental units, up to $25,000 toward renovating existing rental units or up to $35,000 for creating rental units from undeveloped spaces or buildings unused for at least five years.
Two owners are currently awaiting final contracts, Dave Turnbull, the program's code enforcement administrator, said. These particular rental units are undergoing renovations, not starting from the ground up, so Turnbull hopes to see at least one of them completed and the other well underway by the end of the year.
"As with all new programs, there were a couple bumps we had to work out," Turnbull said. "[But] we think we're right on track."
Unlike the Tax Increment Finance Authority money given this year for external improvements, the money these property owners will receive is for internal improvements to spaces which will become rental units. This includes anything from putting in new walls to redoing floors.
Each of the new or renovated rental units will be located on the upper floors of mixed-use buildings in the downtown area. The newly created units will only be leased to those who make at or below 80 percent of the area median income for Hillsdale County, or about $30,000 a year for a single-person household.
The new housing will be cheaper than most existing rental units; the projected rent for a studio apartment is only $404 per month.
In order to begin work on the units, each property must go through a multi-step process, Christine Bowman, Hillsdale's economic director, said in an e-mail to The Collegian. Each property must go through safety inspections and have architectural drawings for the improvements drawn up and approved by the County Building Inspection Department. Then the property owner will review construction bid and select his contractor. Once the bids have been finalize and the grant contracts signed, the construction will begin.
Several building owners in downtown Hillsdale will soon receive money for creating or renovating rental units, up to $25,000 toward renovating existing rental units or up to $35,000 for creating rental units from undeveloped spaces or buildings unused for at least five years.
Two owners are currently awaiting final contracts, Dave Turnbull, the program's code enforcement administrator, said. These particular rental units are undergoing renovations, not starting from the ground up, so Turnbull hopes to see at least one of them completed and the other well underway by the end of the year.
"As with all new programs, there were a couple bumps we had to work out," Turnbull said. "[But] we think we're right on track."
Unlike the Tax Increment Finance Authority money given this year for external improvements, the money these property owners will receive is for internal improvements to spaces which will become rental units. This includes anything from putting in new walls to redoing floors.
Each of the new or renovated rental units will be located on the upper floors of mixed-use buildings in the downtown area. The newly created units will only be leased to those who make at or below 80 percent of the area median income for Hillsdale County, or about $30,000 a year for a single-person household.
The new housing will be cheaper than most existing rental units; the projected rent for a studio apartment is only $404 per month.
In order to begin work on the units, each property must go through a multi-step process, Christine Bowman, Hillsdale's economic director, said in an e-mail to The Collegian. Each property must go through safety inspections and have architectural drawings for the improvements drawn up and approved by the County Building Inspection Department. Then the property owner will review construction bid and select his contractor. Once the bids have been finalize and the grant contracts signed, the construction will begin.
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