WUPPDR Awarded Rural Readiness Grant

WUPPDR Awarded Rural Readiness Grant for L’Anse Housing Initiative

 HANCOCK – The Western Upper Peninsula Planning and Development Region (WUPPDR) has been awarded a Rural Readiness Grant from the Office of Rural Development, Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

 The $50,000 grant will be used to establish and activate a nonprofit community development corporation (CDC) in the L’Anse, Mich. area, and to work with L’Anse Township and the Village of L’Anse to prepare a township-owned tract of land for housing development. Of more than 90 applicants, WUPPDR is one of 21 recipients in the State of Michigan for round 1 of the Rural Readiness program, including three in the Upper Peninsula.

 A CDC can conduct a wide variety of community development activities, but the initial focus of the L’Anse Area CDC will be housing. Years of feedback from Baraga County stakeholders have indicated a severe shortage of attainable high-quality housing in the area, limiting employment and business expansion opportunities. A CDC can foster development by coordinating the “packaging” of parcels, financing sources, and other prerequisites for housing development, ultimately leading to physical development of sites by either nonprofit or for-profit developers.

 WUPPDR’s lead local partner organization in the grant project is the Baraga County Chamber of Commerce, which has committed in-kind personnel and financial support. Other key partners, many of which are also generously providing financial support, include: L’Anse Township and Village, Baraga County Board of Commissioners and Economic Development Corporation,

 Baraga County Memorial Hospital, Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, Superior National Bank and Trust, Invest UP, and William Menge. WUPPDR looks forward to a strong, productive collaboration with these and other future partners.

 For more information, please contact Jerry Wuorenmaa, Executive Director, at jwuorenmaa@wuppdr.org or (906) 482-7205 ext. 111.