City officials spent as much as $537,000 per home renovating 30 houses under a federal program to fight blight only to sell most for less than $100,000 apiece, a Detroit News investigation has found.
The Detroit Land Bank transformed eyesores — some that were rotting and burned — into gleaming gems, with glass-tiled bathrooms, stainless steel appliances, underground sprinkler systems and even $35,000 geothermal heating in a few. The goal was to entice middle-class families into East English Village and Boston Edison to strengthen the neighborhoods...
In total, the land bank spent nearly $8.7 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on 30 homes. That’s an average of $290,000 per home, and the 13 most expensive homes cost $300,000 to $537,000 apiece. The return on the investment from sales so far: $2 million.
The money was spent under a former director, Aundra Wallace, who left last summer for an economic development job in Florida. He didn’t return phone calls for comment. His successor, along with Mayor Mike Duggan, have distanced themselves from the program and instead are auctioning homes to buyers who will make repairs themselves...
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Link: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20140529/METRO01/305290038/0/metro08/Detroit-spends-8-7-million-flip-30-homes-bring-2-million
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