Residents from the Village of Mancelona can soon apply for grants to improve the integrity of their homes, according to Village President Mike Allison.

This grant opportunity will provide funding to improve up to six owner-occupied homes in the Village. Eligible projects which might qualify include improvements to ingress and egress, roofing, porches, doors, windows, siding and painting.

The purpose of the grant program is to rehabilitate the exteriors of homes in the Village, which is one of the top priorities of the community, according to Allison, who is also Chair of the Community Resource Developmenr (CRD). “94 percent of people living in Mancelona’s neighborhoods said that blight removal was essential for restoring the image of Mancelona.”

The funding will be provided by the Michigan State Housing and Development Authority (MSHDA).

This grant is just a start to tackling blight in Mancelona. “We will be approaching foundations and public agencies to attempt to leverage this grant into even more resources to address housing in Mancelona,” said CRD coordinator Elise Crafts. “One of the goals is to bundle all the resources available so that we can to do as much as possible to help improve the community’s housing stock.”

“This is a great step forward for our community,” noted Allison. “The people of Mancelona are resilient and we look forward to making good use of these resources and others that we can bring to our Village and surrounding area.”

Applications will be available within the next 30 days. Those interested can receive updates by emailing elise@statecraftmi.com or by calling (231) 313-7116.