Michigan Main Street Announces Second Round of Applications for the Associate Level Program

LANSING, MI - Due to the immense interest in Michigan Main Street Center's Associate Main Street program, staff have made available a second round of services for the 2012 year.  If the program goes well, bi-annual application deadlines are expected to be implemented in the future, allowing Main Street services to benefit a larger number of Michigan communities.

Michigan Main Street Associate services are available to communities by application and include a series of trainings intended to give local residents, businesses and property owners the tools necessary to develop fully-functioning grassroots community development organizations locally.  Currently, eighteen communities participate in the program from across the state, including the city of Zeeland, downtown Lansing, and the city of Elk Rapids.

The Michigan Main Street program is part of Governor Snyder's placemaking efforts to create vibrant communities across Michigan. These efforts are based on numerous studies showing that investing in placemaking creates vibrant centers and downtowns, making the state economically stronger. 

Applications for the Associate Main Street program can be found on the organization's Web site www.michiganmainstreetcenter.org and are due to the Michigan State Housing Development Authority's (MSHDA) Lansing location by 4:00 p.m. April 27, 2012.

Communities wishing to become a Michigan Main Street community or to request information regarding the Michigan Main Street Associate Level program are asked to contact Laura Krizov at (517) 241-4237.

The Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) provides financial and technical assistance through public and private partnerships to create and preserve decent, affordable housing for low- and moderate-income residents and to engage in community economic development activities to revitalize urban and rural communities.*

*MSHDA's loans and operating expenses are financed through the sale of tax-exempt and taxable bonds as well as notes to private investors, not from state tax revenues. Proceeds are loaned at below-market interest rates to developers of rental housing, and help fund mortgages and home improvement loans. MSHDA also administers several federal housing programs. For more information, visit www.michigan.gov/mshda