Profile of
Downtown Development Authorities

The DDA Act for Michigan serves a variety of purposes, as explained in the Introductory section to the DDA Development Plan Report:

A. Purpose of the Downtown Development Authority Act.

Act No. 197 of Public Acts of 1975 of the State of Michigan, commonly referred to as the Downtown Development Authority Act, was created in part to correct and prevent deterioration of business districts; to promote economic growth and revitalization; to encourage historic preservation; to authorize the acquisition and disposal of interest in real and personal property; to authorize the creation of an authority; to authorize the levy and collection of taxes, the issuance of bonds and the use of tax increment financing in the accomplishment of specific downtown development activities contained in locally-adopted development plans for older or traditional central business districts of large and medium-sized Michigan cities.

The Act seeks to attack problems of urban decline, strengthen existing areas and encourage new private developments in the downtown districts of our communities. It seeks to accomplish this goal by providing communities with the necessary legal, monetary and organizational tools to revitalize downtown districts either through public-initiated project undertakings or in concert with privately motivated development projects.¹

A DDA may:

• tax itself to raise operating revenues;
• study and analyze economic changes and the impact of metropolitan growth on the downtown district;
• plan, develop and finance construction or rehabilitation of public or private facilities including multi-family housing which aids the economic growth of the downtown;
• buy, sell, lease, convey, own or dispose of property as both a lessor and lessee;
• issue revenue bonds to construct revenue producing public facilities;
• issue tax increment bonds to make public improvements necessary to accommodate private development.

Suggested other pages...

DDA Financial Chart	Tax Increment Financing