Housing developers around the state now have access to millions of dollars in funding as part of a new streamlined program unveiled Monday by Michigan’s housing agency. 

The Michigan State Housing Development Authority said the MI Neighborhood application is open to developers, nonprofits and units of local government. The program will allocate a total of $60 million through Oct. 1, according to a news release.

The funding is allocated throughout 15 regions around the state, with $1.564 million available to qualified applicants in each of the city of Detroit and Oakland County, and $1.624 million available in each of Macomb and suburban Wayne counties, according to MSHDA materials on the program. 

“MI Neighborhood represents our annual commitment to acknowledging the hard work of our regional housing partnerships and meeting the priorities they’ve identified in their regional action plans,” Amy Hovey, executive director and CEO of MSHDA, said in the release. “It’s also a commitment to bringing forward solutions that eliminate unnecessary burdens and red tape.” 

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and her administration have made housing initiatives a key priority, particularly as affordability has vastly diminished amid tight supply, higher interest rates and limited building activity. 

Funding for the new MSHDA program includes a mix of new funding from the state’s Housing and Community Development Fund as well as federal Community Development Block Grant dollars, according to an MSHDA spokesman. 

The program “is intended to be a low-barrier, common application that will be accessible to experienced and emerging community developers, nonprofits, and municipal leaders alike,” according to the release. 

The size of the developer grants range from $200,000 up to $2 million depending on the experience of the applying developer, per a MI Neighborhoods program overview. Funds can be used for building new homes, rehabilitation of older homes or “targeted investments” in neighborhoods. 

“MI Neighborhood is a one-stop shop for developers, nonprofits, and units of government to ask us for help in funding improvements for local neighborhoods through new units, rehabilitation, and public amenities,” Hovey said in the release. “We’ll continue to move quickly with these kinds of locally-focused solutions.”

Developers can access the application here.