More incentives are in place to encourage suburbanites to return to Detroit. This time, Mayor Dave Bing plans to target the city's public safety officers.
Until 1999, the city maintained a residency requirement for all members of the police and firefighting forces. Bing's program will give some of the city's most appealing housing stock, in neighborhoods like Boston-Edison and East English Village, to Detroit cops (and eventually firefighters) for as little as $1,000. The city will pay to renovate the homes, which are vacant, and will also help cops with the down payment.
Excerpt:
The city is using $30 million of its $41 million from the
Neighborhood Stabilization Fund, a federal program to revitalize
neighborhoods, to pay for the renovations, down payments and forgivable
loans. The other $11 million is being used to help lower-income
residents buy houses. The incentives won't cost the city a dime, Bing said.
"We hope this can be a model for the nation," the mayor said.
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