Revitalization and Placemaking (RAP) Program

Program Overview

This program will provide access to real estate and place-based infrastructure development gap financing through grants of up to $5 million per project for real estate rehabilitation and development, grants of up to $1 million per project for public space improvements and grants of up to $20 million to local or regional partners who develop a coordinated subgrant program.
Eligible applicants are individuals or entities working to rehabilitate vacant, underutilized, blighted and historic structures and the development of permanent place-based infrastructure associated with traditional downtowns, social-zones, outdoor dining and placed-based public spaces.

The RAP program will award funding to eligible applicants based on one or more competitive application rounds, with the first application round being announced in early 2022.

Program Goals

Partner with local Michigan communities to proactively address the negative economic impacts of the pandemic by investing in projects that promote population and tax revenue growth through the revitalization and repurposing of vacant, underutilized, blighted or historic buildings and investment in place-based infrastructure.
Deploy federal American Rescue Plan funding to support investments that will create the environment necessary to attract and retain talent, add new housing options, enable business creation and attraction and provide resources for Michigan citizens and communities.
Help local governments avoid budget crises, retain current residents and enhance downtown vitality.

Award Structure and Funding

All awards will be structured as grants with performance milestones and reporting requirements. All awards must meet all requirements of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, Public Law 117-2 and comply with its attendant federal regulations, 31 CFR 35, as amended from time to time.
Grant awards may be made directly to individual projects, or to local or regional partner organizations for regranting to local communities or projects.
The minimum grant award is $500,000 and the maximum awards are $5 million per project for real estate rehabilitation and development, $1 million per project for public space place-based infrastructure and $20 million for local or regional partner applicants that develop a subgrant program. Requests for subgrant awards must demonstrate local or regional coordination to implement a revitalization strategy.
The minimum required match for RAP awards 50% of the project’s Eligible Costs as detailed in the RAP Program Guidelines. For example: if the project’s Eligible Costs are $4 million, then the maximum RAP grant award would be the lesser of $2 million or the financing gap as demonstrated in the application and verified through program underwriting review.

General Program Timeline

An initial RAP Program application round will be announced in early 2022. The funding announcement will be followed by a 30-day question and answer period which will be followed by an open application period of at least 90 days. All RAP program funds must be obligated by December 31, 2024 and must be expended by December 31, 2026.

Applications will be competitively evaluated and those selected for recommendation to the Michigan Strategic Fund will be notified in the summer of 2022. In the event there are remaining funds, additional funding rounds may be necessary. Any questions can be emailed to CDincentives@michigan.org.

Revitalization and Placemaking Program Webinar

To learn more about the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Revitalization and Placemaking Program (RAP) please watch this webinar and question and answer session or you can review the presentation document via the button below.

Review Presentation

Learn More

Program Documents for Download

Revitalization and Placemaking Factsheet

Revitalization and Placemaking FAQ

Revitalization and Placemaking Guidelines

Project Considerations

The most competitive project submissions will clearly address the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic by responding to the considerations below:

Local support and match: All submissions must include a letter of support from the local or regional economic development organization and/or municipality. The most competitive proposals will also include a financial contribution from the local unit of government.
Location: Preference will be given to projects located in Federal qualified census tracts (QCT) and to projects located in traditional downtowns or traditional commercial corridors.
Covid impact: Applicants must address how the proposal is responsive to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, including, but not limited to, if a project is not located within a QCT, a) demonstration of how the project will target economically disadvantaged communities by supporting beneficiaries earning less than 60% of median income for the jurisdiction or having over 25% of intended beneficiaries below the federal poverty line, or b) demonstrate how the project will support industries that faced disproportionate economic impacts by assessing the size of the economic harm to the impacted industries, such as the loss of earnings or revenue, that resulted from the COVID-19 public health emergency and whether, and the extent to which, the proposed investment would respond to or address this harm.
Capacity: The applicant, consultant or individual member of the development team must have experience implementing a project of a similar scope.
Long-term impacts: Competitive applicants will be able to articulate how the proposal will have a long-term impact in the community including addressing how it will enable growth in population and tax revenue.
Projects that include housing must include units that are priced to be attainable to the local workforce including households with less than 120% of the area median income.
Financial viability: Demonstrate long-term financial viability of the project and a financial need for the project
Local and regional impact considerations: A project should demonstrate how it supports the vision and goals stated in the local master plan, downtown plan, capital improvements plan and/or economic development strategy, along with the readiness of infrastructure.