Detroit receives $20M for community development projects

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(The Center Square) – Lawmakers applaud the awarding of nearly $20 million in federal funding for more than a dozen community development projects in Detroit.

“This funding will improve the lives of our residents by providing home repairs, affordable housing, lead abatement, flood recovery resources, workforce development, neighborhood revitalization, and climate resilience to protect our public health,” said U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Michigan.

Tlaib represents the 12th Congressional District, which is in the suburbs of Detroit and includes Dearborn.

In just the 12th district, $17.1 million of the total $20 million funded 15 different projects. The awards for the projects range from $4 million to $220,000.

Some of the $20 million includes:

• $4 million for Wayne County to facilitate a Multi-City Lead Service Line Replacement Project

• $3 million for the City of Detroit U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Lead Service Line Replacement

• $2.5 million for the Grandmont Rosedale Minock Park Place Project

• $2 million for the Detroit Energy Efficiency and Home Improvement Program

• $2 million for the Southwest Detroit Creative Connections Collaborative Project

• $1.7 million for the Stoudamire Wellness Hub at Eastside Community Network

• $1.5 million for the American Indian Health and Family Services New Facility and Campus for Health and Wellbeing

Tlaib, as chair of the bipartisan Get the Lead Out congressional caucus, has made removing lead pipes a key priority during her tenure.

She said the funding for line replacement is a “crucial step” to providing clean drinking water and protecting the “health and well-being of our community.”

The Center Square investigated the Detroit Energy Efficiency and Home Improvement Program to examine its use of taxpayer dollars. The $2 million in funding for this project, which was part of a federal Community Project Funding request, was first announced in 2022.

Awarded to Enterprise Community Partners, the money will be used to assess and repair 100 low-income homes. Those repairs will also include energy efficiency upgrades and improvements meant to reduce their utility costs.

“It is essential that we fund projects like these because our residents deserve to have housing that enables them to thrive in our communities,” Tlaib said in a statement at that time. “I know that Enterprise, Walker-Miller Energy Services, and their partners in the community will use these dollars to directly impact our neighbors and I cannot wait to visit many of the 100 homes that will be improved greatly by this community project funding.”

This program will have three elements: the assessments and repairs, workforce development programing, and development of community energy ambassadors.

Taking into account the other aspects of the program, if just $1 million is used towards the homes, that is an average of $10,000 per home.

According to Enterprise, in the past, participating households generally save a maximum of $650 a year in energy costs. That means it would take more than 15 years for each household to earn back the estimated $10,000 in government funds used to upgrade their homes.