Uplifting Vinyl Cladding Program Renews Michigan Homes
MUSKEGON, Mich., Oct. 24, 2008 – An urban renewal program run by Muskegon, Michigan, offers free vinyl cladding to qualified homeowners.
Muskegon, 19 square miles, is on the western side of the lower peninsula by Lake Michigan, with a population of about 40,000 people. The average value of a Muskegon home is $62,520.
Under supervision from the city's Department of Community and Neighborhood Services, Muskegon has provided vinyl cladding to 157 homes at no charge to families with limited income, 29 homes in 2007 alone.
Three years ago, Bonnie Cloud bought a weather-beaten home in the Lakeside neighborhood for herself and her son, who has cerebral palsy, and was visited by a city code enforcer prepared to issue her a ticket. Instead, the code enforcer told her of the vinyl cladding program. Cloud noted later the program saved her from having to sell her home, as she would not have been able to afford the renovation costs.
The maximum income eligible for the program is $36,780 for a family of four. The average cost to side a home is $7,500, for which the city, in effect, loans homeowners the amount in the form of a lien against the property. For each year the family remains in the home after the siding is done, one-fifth of the amount is deducted from the lien. There is no cost to the homeowner provided he or she remains in the home for five years. Otherwise, the homeowner must pay the balance of the lien upon moving out.
Wil Griffin, who heads the city's department for the program, said the city has spent $1.8 million installing vinyl cladding on dilapidated homes since the program began. Because of decreased funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, his staff has become more selective on which qualifying homes to re-clad. Most likely candidates are those sided with wood clapboard, imitation brick, chip board, slate or shingles, some of which contain asbestos.
The results of the program are more appealing homes with durable, low maintenance vinyl cladding, grateful homeowners, and often revitalized neighborhoods, as the new cladding is sometimes applied to several homes on one street.
The program's coordinator, Ardis Haken, said, "I've had people say, 'I went right by my house and didn't even recognize it.' It's a good program. It's helped a lot of people."
The program's waiting list is already full for the next fiscal year.
The Vinyl Institute represents the leading manufacturers involved in the production of PVC vinyl in the United States, and promotes the value of PVC and vinyl products to society.
For more information, contact:
Jeffrey B. Palmer
Director of Marketing & Communications
The Vinyl Institute
(703) 741-5669
jeff_palmer@plastics.org
Also go to: www.vinylindesign.com and www.vinylinfo.org .