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DOWAGIAC — The City of Dowagiac has been awarded a $300,000 MI-HOPE grant through the Michigan State Housing Development Authority, according to Mayor Don Lyons. 

The MI-HOPE program, an extension of MSHDA’s Neighborhood Enhancement Program, aids communities throughout Michigan by providing funds to local governments and non-profit organizations to engage in energy-efficiency housing projects. Eligible assisted activities include roofs, insulation, modification or replacement of heating/cooling systems and more. The MI-HOPE  grant adds to a Neighborhood Enhancement Program grant and a HUD housing incentive grant that were recently received by the City. 

“Over the next year and a half, $475,000 grant dollars from MI Hope, NEP, and HUD programs will be invested in home improvements in neighborhoods throughout the City of Dowagiac,” Mayor Lyons said. “When added to the NEP funds received in prior years, that totals over $800,000 invested in our neighborhoods since 2020.”

Specific guidelines for each of the programs is under development and applications will be published on the City’s website CityofDowagiac.com, when they become available. All home improvement projects will be completed by Sept 2024.

Additionally, since the City of Dowagiac’s partnership with MSHDA’s program to encourage new home construction began in 2020, four new houses have been built or are under construction on Spruce and Parsonage. An offer for the last available lot has been received and will be heading to City Council soon. The second MSHDA home has been approved and will be constructed this summer on Andrews Street.