March 30, 2005

LANSING – Governor Jennifer M. Granholm announced today that the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) will help create 8,000 jobs and hundreds of affordable housing units as part of her Jobs Today Initiative.
 
“Our Jobs Today Initiative is making an unprecedented investment in Michigan’s economic future,” Governor Granholm said. “Today we are putting our resources to work, and with the help of MSHDA, we are getting the jumpstart we need to put workers on the job and paychecks in their pockets.”
 
MSHDA is accelerating federal tax credits to for-profit and nonprofit developers, and implementing legislation signed by Governor Granholm allowing the Authority to finance a greater number of low-interest, single-family mortgages.
 
“Through the Jobs Today Initiative we will create thousands of jobs and hundreds of new, affordable housing units for families and seniors across the state,” said Michael R. DeVos, MSHDA executive director. “As part of the Jobs Today Initiative we will leverage an additional $518 million to get construction on these units underway ahead of schedule, and put people to work sooner.”
 
Over the next year, MSHDA will accelerate 50 percent of its 2006 federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) awarded to developers who submit successful applications under the LIHTC Qualified Allocation Plan.  This amounts to over $80 million for the development and construction of affordable living units across Michigan, creating much needed housing and jobs.
 
Public Act 549 of 2004 (HB 6077), signed by Granholm, dramatically increased the income and purchase price limits in MSHDA’s single-family programs.  This has allowed MSHDA to double the number of single-family loans they finance, tripling the total mortgage amount.  Many of these loans are for the construction of new homes, which will help generate additional jobs in Michigan.

MSHDA is a state governmental agency that provides financial and technical assistance through public and private partnerships to create and preserve decent, affordable housing for low- and moderate-income Michigan residents.  MSHDA’s loans and operating expenses are financed through the sale of tax-exempt and taxable bonds and notes to private investors, not from state tax revenues.
 
First announced in the Governor’s 2005 State of the State Address, the Jobs Today Initiative will create jobs in seven key areas, including affordable housing construction and renovation; school improvement and repair; pollution cleanup; road improvements; long-term care facility construction and renovation; downtown development; and university campus improvements.
 
“Jobs must be the first order of business for everyone in Michigan today,” Granholm said.  “We can help families have a place to call home while we put people back to work.”