Jackson Awarded $125K to Demolish and Clean Up Eyesore

A former auto shop will be demolished using a blight elimination grant.  Photo courtesy City of Jackson.

(May 14, 2021 2:55 PM) The State Land Bank Authority (SLBA) and Michigan Department of Treasury today announced a total of $800,000 in blight elimination grants will be awarded to Jackson and five other cities across Michigan.  The City of Jackson award of $125,200 will be used to demolish and cleanup the property at 1710 Woodbridge St., which is the former Woodbridge Auto Shop.

“This is a great opportunity for communities across the state to tackle blight, remove vacant and abandoned structures from neighborhoods and prepare areas for developments that spark future investment, expansion and growth,” said Emily Doerr, Executive Director of the SLBA.

The City of Jackson acquired this property through tax foreclosure last year.  The City’s Neighborhood and Economic Operations Dept. applied for the state grant with this property in mind.  The grant will cover most of the cost of demolishing the property and cleaning up any environmental concerns from its former use as an auto shop.

“The City is thankful for this grant, which will help us remove an eyesore in a Jackson neighborhood,” said Aaron Dimick, Public Information Officer, City of Jackson. “Using City funds to remove this blighted property would have cost us a lot of taxpayer funds, so we are glad that we’re getting assistance to remove the property,”  Dimick said.

Dimick said the City Council will be considering demolition bids at the next meeting on May 25, and he anticipates this property will be demolished in the coming months.  Dimick noted this property is close to the MLK Corridor Improvement Authority, which includes Prospect Street, so redeveloping this property is possible in the future.

The Blight Elimination Grant program was made available to a city, village, township, county or land bank for projects that pose an immediate public safety or health risk to the community. The grant assists in removing vacant and abandoned structures in preparation for future developments, helping launch business investments and spurring economic growth.

Grants totaling $800,000 will be awarded to the following communities:

• City of Albion                                    $200,000
• City of Bessemer                              $24,800
• City of Jackson                                 $125,200
• City of Lapeer                                   $200,000
• City of Saginaw                                $200,000
• City of St. Johns                               $50,000

“We’re thrilled to be partnering with the Land Bank on this opportunity to fund these individual projects across our state and make way for the continued enhancement of our Michigan communities,” said Deputy State Treasurer Joyce Parker, who oversees Treasury’s State and Local Finance programs. “The requests received illustrate that our Michigan communities are serious about eliminating blight, creating more vibrant spaces and pursuing opportunities for growth.”

Proposals were evaluated on their anticipated impact in promoting public safety and health, enhancing economic development, public and private investment in the project, and their alignment with a local place plan or other placemaking effort.

Additional information about the grant program is available on the SLBA’s Blight Elimination Programs webpage.

SLBA has eliminated 3,362 blighted structures and returned 2,480 properties to productive use since 2010. To learn more about the SLBA’s efforts to improve communities across the state, visit Michigan.gov/LandBank.