DOWAGIAC — More curb appeal may be coming to Dowagiac thanks to a vote by the city council Monday.

During its regularly scheduled meeting, the Dowagiac City Council voted to approve a resolution allowing the city to apply for a $50,000 grant from the Michigan State Housing Development Authority. The program is intended to fund activities that directly impact the stabilization and enhancement of neighborhoods by funding housing projects that are “highly visible [and] impactful to the neighborhood.” The program is limited to neighborhoods in census blocks that are 120 percent or below the area median income, and the maximum amount of the grant that can be used on any given home is $5,000. 

Following the vote, City Manager Kevin Anderson submitted the application Tuesday morning on behalf of the city.

“The kinds of things we can work on here are things that enhance the neighborhood like broken porches, windows, siding, roofing, those kinds of things that can make a big difference in a neighborhood and start cleaning it up piece by piece,” Anderson said. “If we get this grant, it is something we would want to go for over and over again and make it routine.”

If awarded, Anderson said the grant would pair well with the city’s current Property Improvement Incentive Program that is funded with $10,000 annually, a program that he said is in place because the city has been working for years to help residents make improvements on their houses and in their neighborhoods. 

“[The grant for the Michigan State Housing Development Authority] is about doing a lot of things we have been doing with $10,000, so we are hoping we can do a lot more with $60,000 [total],” he said. “We could really take neighborhood enhancement to another level.”

Though Anderson said he does not know what the chances are of Dowagiac receiving the grant, he is hopeful that the city will receive it. He said he believes the neighborhood enhancement it could provide would improve the lives of residents, as blighted or run-down properties can have a negative impact on people living in neighborhoods with them.

“If we can get this grant, it can give us a nice start on taking that next step and helping areas that have some deteriorating housing,” Anderson said. “It could really make a difference in people’s lives, improve quality of life and make people want to live here.”