The cities targeted are Detroit, Pontiac, Hamtramck, Highland Park, Flint, Benton Harbor, Saginaw and Muskegon Heights. These cities were identified based on conditions of declining population, extreme poverty, loss of industry and jobs, crumbling infrastructure and blighted neighborhoods.
Cities of Promise Initiative is a five year program that Governor Granholm kicked off in 2006. The program has the following goals:
Substantially increasing the number of blighted residential structures demolished in each of the cities through strategic demolition activities
Increasing income and skills of homeless persons in the cities
Increasing the use of deconstruction (salvaging/recycling usable materials) in place of and/or in conjunction with demolition to remove unwanted structures and rebuild communities
Increasing the use of holistic, market-based neighborhood revitalization plans tied to the neighborhoods where blight is being addressed with MSHDA funds
$6.25 million will be made available for blight elimination during the first year, and must be used to target publicly owned, residential properties in target areas. The funds made available to for blight elimination must be supplemented by Community Development Block Grants.
Last October, Cities of Promise went to work in Benton Harbor, where the Governor announced the DEQ will conduct a $400,000 cleanup at the truck terminal site located within the Harbor Shores Development project, and $3.033 million in MDOT road improvements, to support the expansion of Whirlpool Corporation.
The Cities of Promise Initiative is designed to encourage and allow local officials and state agencies to collaborate in redevelopment. In May of this year, Governor Granholm announced the creation of a new division in MSHDA - The Urban Revitalization Division - to support her Cool Cities and Cities of Promise initiatives. Both initiatives focus on urban development and are key components of her plan to transform Michigan's economy.
