Hamtramck - Hamtramck seeks developer to rehab 30 for-sale homes

Model D, 8/27/2009

Hamtramck is turning the negative of its vacant, foreclosed, and sometimes blighted homes into a positive by pushing for their rehabilitation as the most efficient and cost-effective way of dealing with the problem.

Excerpt:

The City of Hamtramck is seeking a qualified developer to rehabilitate 30 homes in the city that will then be sold to qualified buyers. These 30 units will be applied to the requirements of the lawsuit Garret, et al vs. City of Hamtramck, which came about when the development of I-75 displaced residents, primarily African-Americans, from Hamtramck. The case was settled in 1981; of the original 153 housing units called for, just 39 remain after this batch of 30.

The city is currently reviewing responses to the request for proposals recently issued for 35 units of rental housing. Thirteen foreclosed homes with 20 units of housing have recently been acquired from Wayne County. The rental project will have first dibs on these houses, says Jason Friedmann, Hamtramck's community and economic development director, but any remaining could be considered for this development. Otherwise, the developer will be responsible for site identification, although research on many of the city's foreclosed and vacant properties is available.

Rehab, rather than new construction, is being pursued to fulfill the terms of the lawsuit for one reason: cost. "We were building new homes and it was costing too much," says Freidmann. "We can offer a much more affordable home this way."

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Hamtramck