HUD APPROVES A $1.5 MILLION LOAN GUARANTEE FOR PORT HURON MICHIGAN
Federally backed loan to help city acquire, rehab historic Sperry Building

Sperry Building

CHICAGO - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today announced the approval of a $1.5 million loan guarantee to help the City of Port Huron, Michigan to acquire and rehabilitate the vacant three-story, historic Sperry Building in the State-designated Military Street Historic District of the City's downtown area.

HUD's Section 108 Loan Guarantee Assistance Program enables local governments to borrow money from private sources at reduced interest rates to promote economic development, stimulate job growth and improve public facilities. The loan guarantee program allows local governments to convert up to five times the allocation of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds into federally guaranteed loans that are large enough to pursue physical and economic revitalization projects that are capable of renewing entire neighborhoods. Such public investment is often necessary to inspire private contributions, to provide seed money or simply to boost confidence private firms and individuals may need to invest in distressed areas.

"HUD's Loan Guarantee Program can be a powerful public investment tool to drive economic development in underserved areas," said Antonio R. Riley, HUD Midwest Regional Administrator. "It will be a huge boost to the City of Port Huron's ongoing neighborhood revitalization efforts and will provide employment opportunities for lower income residents who need them most."

Upon completion, the newly renovated building will include approximately 66,000 square feet of mixed-use commercial space for an entrepreneurial, business incubator, six (6) small specialty theaters of first floor; a 100-seat restaurant on second floor; and another six (6) small specialty theaters on third floor. Also, redevelopment project will cause the creation of 52 new jobs, the majority of which will provide employment opportunities for low and moderate income persons.

The loan guarantee assistance announced today will amplify a previously awarded HUD grant of $1 million to remediate the building's environmental challenges including removing lead-based paint, asbestos and replacing all the old contaminated electrical and mechanical systems. This approximately $10 million redevelopment project will also include bank construction and permanent financing and federal and state historic tax credit equity funding.

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