DETROIT - Mayor Mike Duggan has released a plan to allow Detroit municipal workers, retirees and their families to pay half the price of their winning auction bids for city-owned houses.
Duggan told reporters Monday that the program will help strengthen neighborhoods and return more residents to home ownership.
He says the plan could be in place by mid-February if approved by City Council.
The city owns thousands of empty houses. It is tearing down those that can't be rehabilitated while attempting to sell others to buyers willing to fix them up and move in. Detroit began auctioning vacant houses last year through its land bank.
A survey last year showed more than 40,000 structures in Detroit needed demolition. Another 38,000 had indications of blight and could be up for demolition.
