Chemical Bank now offering financing for TTH, opening new opportunities for Calhoun County residents to rehabilitate properties MARSHALL, Mich. – The Calhoun County Land Bank Authority (CCLBA) announced today that Chemical Bank is now offering financing for the CCLBA’s Transform This Home program (TTH). The program creates incentives and benchmarks … Read More
Battle Creek veteran honored by Battle Creek City Commission
Allen Blickley receives Beautiful Battle Creek Award for beautifying lot where blighted house once stood BATTLE CREEK, Mich. –Allen Blickley was honored in December by his local Neighborhood Planning Council and the City of Battle Creek with a Beautiful Battle Creek Award for sprucing up a lot where a blighted … Read More
With home listings ‘unbelievably low,’ Marshall wants to spur housing development
Matt Davis has been selling homes in Marshall for more than two decades. He’s never seen a market quite like the one today. At a Marshall coffee shop, Davis, who is the owner and principal broker a Real Estate One Rosemary Davis in downtown Marshall and the newly elected president of … Read More
Calhoun County Land Bank partners with Battle Creek, Marshall to host lectures on small development
Learn how to start a small real estate project at events scheduled for Sept. 19 and Sept. 26 MARSHALL, Mich. – The Calhoun County Land Bank Authority is partnering with the cities of Battle Creek, Albion and Marshall to host a Small Real Estate Developer Training & Capacity Building program, … Read More
After Delays, Demolition of Marshall’s State Farm Building Commencing
Demolition is now underway on a large building that has sat vacant in Marshall for some time, after a long delay. The State Farm building at 410 East Dr. has been vacant since 2006, and efforts to find a buyer for the 7.5 acre property were unsuccessful. So earlier this … Read More
Land bank looks to restore some of Battle Creek’s oldest homes
For seven decades, 26 Fremont St. was home to one Battle Creek family. Members of the Barber family died here, got married here and operated a small gift shop inside. But the house passed to other owners in the 1950s, became apartments and then became empty, abandoned. The Calhoun County Land … Read More
Land banks: Drastically reinventing communities, even amidst funding crunches
Michigan isn’t exactly a stranger to distressed and blighted properties. Many homes across the state have lain abandoned for years — some serving as decade-old reminders of the Great Recession — frustrating residents and business owners alike. These dilapidated buildings often attract crime, cause property values to plummet and dissuade … Read More
Demo Starts this Week on Marshall State Farm Building
We told you last May that it was coming…..or, rather, going. Melching Inc. of Muskegon will begin demolition of the former State Farm building at 410 East Drive in Marshall this week. Demolition will continue through late August, with restoration running through September. “The former State Farm building has long … Read More
Study finds land banks boost economy all over state
LANSING, Mich. (WILX) – Michigan Association of Land Banks revealed a study on Tuesday that shows it can boost Michigan’s economy. The study showed that through the Land Bank, job growth has increased tremendously throughout the state with construction and landscaping industries. On top of job growth land banks have brought … Read More
Land Banks Claim Generate Economic Impact
Land banks can and are having a substantial economic impact in the communities they serve, according to a first-of-its-kind study released today by the Michigan Association of Land Banks (MALB). Michigan has been a pioneer in the use of land banks to rehabilitate and re-use abandoned, blighted and mainly tax-foreclosed properties, according … Read More