MARQUETTE, MI— The Marquette County Land Bank Authority, InvestUP, and the Lake Superior Community Partnership have received a donation to help with housing in the region.
The $50,000 comes from the Michigan Office of Rural Development. It will be used to hire a Housing Specialist to bolster efforts to increase housing in Marquette County.
The allocation is from the inaugural round of Rural Readiness Grants, a new program aimed at helping rural communities build long-term capacity.
And the Community Foundation of Marquette County has given the Land Bank Authority a $25,000 grant from the Rod and Holly Aldrich Donor Advised Fund to also help address community housing needs.
Among other responsibilities, the Housing Specialist will be:
· Engaging in Marquette County Local Government Task Force quarterly meetings.
· Overseeing the Target Market Analysis.
· Creating development plans for multi-unit housing projects at different sites in Marquette County
· Coordinating plans for housing development on sites where blight elimination dollars have been or will be spent
· Developing an online resource library of tools and funding sources for land banks and local units of government to access and use in the future, including a locally focused pattern book of housing units/blueprints
· Participating in regional discussions, trainings, and workshops
· Assisting municipalities outside of Marquette County with housing projects
· Linking communities to the InvestUP Housing fund.
Plans for the specialist's recruitment are underway, targeting an early 2024 appointment. The current grant ensures the role's sustainability for about fifteen months.
