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Rustbelt mayors call for federal help building housing
Mayors from Cleveland and Toledo, Detroit and Lansing, and elsewhere in the Midwest joined in the Motor City Tuesday to shine a light on the need for more housing - and more assistance for building affordable housing from the federal government.
DETROIT (FOX 2) - Midwest city mayors converged on Detroit in a call to action to boost housing as well as access to resources to building more housing.
The Rustbelt city leaders came from Columbus and Lansing, Rochester Hills and Toledo, as well as Cleveland and Lima, all with a goal of shining a light on the need for more places to live.
"Housing is not an issue, it is the issue in all cities across the country," said Columbus Mayor Andy Ginther.
Standing at the podium in front of the Ruth Ellis Clairmount Center, which Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan held up as an example of what the city and region needs more of, he underscored the tricky math in boosting housing: raising the livelihoods of all while keeping things affordable.
As neighborhoods have come back, so have the classic old homes, which sell for $100,000 and $200,000.
"But we wanted to make sure this neighborhood was available to people of all incomes," said Duggan.
Housing is among the few issues that doesn't fall along partisan lines, with all agreeing the U.S. needs more stock.
"We have a crisis," said Ginther. "In my community, we’re 200,000 units short over the next 10 years.
The story is even more dire across the nation, with an estimate of four million new housing units needed to keep living in the country affordable.
The Lansing mayor said one of the biggest problems is not enough money. He called on the federal government for help, asking for investment to boost projects.
"Our developers can’t bond for it, they can’t get a loan for it so there’s a finance gap, and when there’s a finance gap, projects don’t get done," said Andy Schor.
In Detroit, one local solution is about to take effect. The city council recently passed a PILOT ordinance that cancels property taxes for affordable housing projects.
It will enable faster approval and even faster building.
"That affordable housing is tax-exempt and if you build more housing and guarantee those rents will be subsidized you can build it easier and faster in Detroit than anyplace else," said Duggan.