Matt Helms

Detroit Free Press

Detroit will receive an additional $88 million in federal funding to tear down blighted homes, allowing the city to clear thousands more houses in the next few years, officials said today.

The latest award of federal Troubled Asset Relief Program funding pushes the total that Detroit has received in its blight fight to more than $260 million. The Michigan State Housing Development Authority, which oversees the funding statewide, said Detroit got the lion's share of $188 million that the federal government announced in April.

Most of the new round of funding will go to blight removal, with Detroit getting 75%, Flint 15% and the remainder open to competitive bidding for cities with populations less than 50,000.

State officials said an additional $41.3 million will be set aside to help homeowners who need mortgage and property tax assistance though the Step Forward Michigan online application portal. With previous funding awards, there is a total of $59.9 million available for homeowners.

"The strategic use of these dollars will greatly benefit Michigan homeowners and strengthen communities, resulting in positive progress for people across the state,” Gov. Rick Snyder said in a statement.

MSHDA Executive Director Kevin Elsenheimer said the state prioritized using a majority of the funding in areas of the state with the greatest need and where programs have been most successful.

“We remain committed to providing a holistic solution to the state’s foreclosure problem by helping individual homeowners and by stabilizing local housing markets in Detroit and Flint, where vacancy rates remain the highest,” Elsenheimer said.

Mayor Mike Duggan wasn't immediately available for comment. But in anticipating Detroit's share of the money announced in April, Duggan said Friday it would help the city meet its goal of demolishing 5,000 houses this year and 6,000 in 2017.

Contact Matt Helms: 313-222-1450 or mhelms@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @matthelms.