Author: Michigan Community Capital

New homes under construction in Flint’s historic Carriage Town neighborhood

From vacant lots to vibrant community homes

Wednesday, March 8, 2023

Six new houses are being built in Flint’s Carriage Town neighborhood thanks to a coordinated effort between Michigan Community Capital (MCC) and Uptown Reinvestment Corporation (URC). This project will be some of the first new construction of homes in this historic neighborhood in nearly a century.

The homes, which are being developed by Flint Home Ownership Initiative, LLC, will be located on West 2nd Avenue between North Grand Traverse and Mason streets on three parcels owned by the Genesee County Land Bank Authority. By developing houses on these strategic parcels within the neighborhood, project partners strive to promote homeownership, generate long-term tax revenue for the city, help stabilize the local residential housing market, build on the neighborhood’s strong sense of community, and model sustainable finance structure for future investments in Carriage Town.

Carriage Town is a fantastic neighborhood in the city of Flint that has a rich history and community character. We are proud to bring additional homeownership opportunities at a variety of price points to continue investment in this unique district.
Marilyn Chrumka, VP of investments at Michigan Community Capital.

At 412 West Second Avenue, a small condo association is being developed on the 1/2-acre site. The two sets of duplexes (four homes in total) were designed to fit into the scale and character of the neighborhood. Each 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom unit will be approximately 1,250 square feet and will feature a front porch, rear detached garage, and high-quality building materials. The condo association fee will cover common area maintenance, exterior home repairs, landscaping and snow removal.

“This project is a significant step forward for the Carriage Town neighborhood and the City of Flint. These six housing units are some of the first market-rate single-family homes built in Flint in nearly a decade. This public-private partnership aligned the unique resources of local, county, philanthropic, and federal stakeholders to provide safe and quality workforce housing. In addition, we are honored to work alongside neighborhood residents and organizational partners to contribute to the ongoing neighborhood investments in Carriage Town.”
Moses Timlin, MUPP, Development Coordinator at Uptown Reinvestment Corporation

Across the street, the vacant parcels at 417 and 427 West Second Avenue will each be redeveloped into a 1,500-square-foot, 3-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom, single-family home.

Thoughtful design on all of the homes reinforces the character of historic district through complementary new construction.

Construction materials include:

Slab on Grade Foundations
Wood frame, stick-built construction
Composite siding
Asphalt shingles
Anderson 100 Windows
Interior walls will be drywall & painted
Carpeted bedrooms
Luxury Vinyl Tile floor common areas
Quartz or granite Counters
Solid wood cabinets
Kitchen island
Tile backsplash in kitchen

Stainless steel kitchen appliances
- Gas stove
- Dishwasher
- Garbage disposal
- Microwave above stove
- Refrigerator
Fiberglass shower/tub
Washer/Dryer included
Duplexes come with single-car garage & two surfaced parking spaces
Single-family homes have garage add-on option for additional cost

This project is unique because it utilizes Brownfield Tax Increment Financing in partnership with the City of Flint to help offset the construction cost and the homes’ market-rate price. The project aims to be an example to encourage other investors to build new-construction homes on vacant lots in the city of Flint. In addition, the project showcases strong public-private partnerships by redeveloping Genesee County Land Bank Authority-owned parcels, which will be transferred to the private homebuyer upon sale. Lastly, this $2-million project uses a combination of public and private funding from the Community Development Finance Institution Fund, Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, URC and Michigan Community Capital.

This development could not be built without community support! The Carriage Town Historic Neighborhood Association provided valuable feedback and letters of support to obtain Historic District Commission and City Council Approval.

All six homes are anticipated to be listed for sale in January 2024 and are currently projected to range in price from $155,000 to $175,000.

For more information on this project, email info@livecarriagetown.com.

February 10, 2023 – Photo provided by Uptown Reinvestment Corporation

Temple Lofts – Lansing, Michigan

Robinson Landing – Grand Haven, Michigan

Lofts on Rowe – Ludington, Michigan

New Markets Tax Credits Invested in New Neogen Food Safety Diagnostic Facility

Michigan Community Capital supports Neogen Corporation expansion with $13 million in New Markets Tax Credit allocation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DECEMBER 15, 2022

LANSING, Mich. – Neogen Corporation is undertaking an approximately $110 million expansion of their Lansing food safety facility with the support of $13 million in New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) allocation from Michigan Community Capital (MCC) to support equipment purchases exceeding $40 million. Located between E. Shiawassee Street and E. Michigan Avenue in Lansing, the expansion includes the construction of a new three-story, 176,000-square-foot manufacturing building, that will house new manufacturing and laboratory equipment for the testing and releasing of food safety products. The project is advancing agricultural technology and food innovation supporting the state’s goal of solidifying Michigan as a leader in the life sciences and agribusiness sectors.

Founded in 1982, Neogen Corporation is a Lansing-based company that provides a comprehensive range of solutions and services for the food processing, animal protein, and agriculture industries. Its products include food safety diagnostic test kits, animal pharmaceuticals, disinfectants, and drug detection products among many others.

Over the next seven years, Neogen’s expansion will create more than 100 new jobs accessible to individuals with less than a four-year college degree, and dozens of positions to be filled by professional and technical roles in the food safety industry. Positions will meet living-wage minimums, be full time, and eligible for industry-competitive benefits.

Currently considered a brownfield property, Neogen is investing more than $4 million into remediation activities to prepare the expansion site for construction. Upon completion, the newly constructed facility will achieve a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver certification.

“Neogen is pleased to expand our Lansing footprint and offer new opportunities for workers within our Mid-Michigan community,” said Jerome Hagedorn, Vice President of North American operations at Neogen. “We are proud to work collaboratively with many organizations across Michigan, including Michigan Community Capital, as we continue investing in our state and create good-paying jobs within the food safety industry.”

“Michigan Community Capital is thrilled to support Neogen’s expansion in the city of Lansing. The influx of more than 100 new full-time positions in the city will support surrounding businesses, shops, and restaurants, generating year-round economic activity in the region,” said Eric Hanna, President and CEO at Michigan Community Capital.

Chase is serving as NMTC equity investor for the financing in the project.

“We’re proud to continue our strong relationship with MCC and support the expansion of the Neogen Lansing food safety facility through our New Markets Tax Credit equity investment,” said James Simmons, Executive Director, Chase Community Development Banking. “Through our NMTC platform, we remain committed to using this impactful financing tool to support continued investment and economic development across Michigan and the US.”

The Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) is also supporting this project. The Michigan Strategic Fund (MSF) is supporting the City of Lansing with state tax capture in a brownfield tax increment financing plan valued at approximately $1.5 million to support site readiness and environmental clean-up. The MSF has also approved a Michigan Brownfield Business Development Program (MBDP) grant valued at $324,000 to support the job creation made by Neogen Corporation.

“Congratulations to the team at Neogen on your continued growth and success! We’re pleased to support your expansion in Michigan and appreciate this vote of confidence in the strength of our talented workforce and attractive business climate,” said Quentin L. Messer, Jr., CEO of MEDC and President and Chair of the MSF Board. “This project will not only bring more than 100 good life sciences, R&D, and professional services jobs to Mid-Michigan, but it will also transform an underutilized property and bring new economic activity to downtown Lansing. We’re proud to join our partners at MCC, the Lansing EDC and the City of Lansing to support this project, and look forward to working with Neogen to grow, add even more jobs and provide greater employment for our friends and neighbors in mid-Michigan.”

The Neogen expansion is being further supported by the Lansing Brownfield Redevelopment Authority (LBRA) and the City of Lansing with funding of $30,000 for environmental assessment and fuel tank removal, and by committing to using local tax increment financing to reimburse Neogen for up to $3,500,000 in eligible brownfield clean-up and site preparation activities.

“The Lansing EDC and City of Lansing have partnered with Neogen on multiple expansion projects over the last 20 years. This most recent expansion project is further proof that using the power of public-private partnerships to help local businesses stay and grow is mutually beneficial,” said Karl Dorshimer, President and CEO of the Lansing Economic Development Corporation.

For more information on Neogen, visit www.neogen.com.

About Michigan Community Capital

Michigan Community Capital (MCC) is a non-profit diversified public-private partnership that supports the missions of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) and the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) by aggregating capital and facilitating the financing and development of low-income and attainable housing, and the redevelopment of complex brownfield sites within the State of Michigan. MCC is a U.S. Treasury certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) and the only Community Development Entity (CDE) that deploys this resource solely throughout the entire State of Michigan. Over its 16-year history, MCC has supported over $1 billion in project financing, successfully attracted $380 million in federal New Markets Tax Credits, and helped to create over 750 housing units and 1.9 million square feet of commercial, retail and industrial space to facilitate job creation and expansion. MCC provides products in four key pillars: housing equity, bridge and gap lending, New Markets Tax Credits, and property insurance for Low-Income Housing Tax Credit projects. For more information on MCC visit michigancommunitycapital.org.

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