The Live Midtown initiative, a program that gives financial incentives to Midtown employees to move into the area, has proved so successful that all of the money for the first year of the five-year program is claimed.

Austin Black II, president of City Living Detroit, said employee turnout was much greater than he had originally anticipated.

“There’s just been a lot of interest in living close to work and being a part of the rebirth of Detroit,” he said.

There are already 197 employees approved for the Midtown incentives. This number includes employees who already live in Detroit but wish to relocate within the city, people who live in the suburbs and want to move into the city, and some people coming to Michigan from out of state.

The three largest employers in Midtown are Wayne State, the Detroit Medical Center and Henry Ford Hospital.

Sue Mosey, president of Midtown Detroit, Inc., said these three employers have committed about $1 million to the program.

“The incentives include a $2,500 allowance for new renters toward the cost of their apartment in the first year, followed by an additional funding of $1,000 for the second year and a $1,000 allowance for already-existing renters renewing a lease in 2011,” Mosey said.

She said incentives also include $5,000 exterior home improvement matching funds for projects costing $10,000 or more for existing homeowners; a $20,000 forgivable loan toward the purchase of a primary residence if taken at one fixed time; or $5,000 per year if taken over a period of five years.

The Hudson-Webber Foundation, the Michigan State Housing Development Authority and the Kresge Foundation are providing financial support as well.

Leanna First-Arai, an intern at WDET, graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in history from the University of Michigan this summer and lives in an apartment in Ann Arbor.

“The incentives sound really exciting. I’m not sure what path I want to take yet, but the city has a lot of opportunity,” she said. “It would be cool if I could find a place here so I could more easily explore my goals.”

To qualify for the incentives, housing must be located within the boundaries laid out by Midtown Detroit Inc.: New Center, Midtown, Virginia Park and Woodbridge neighborhoods.

Mosey says Midtown housing is probably 95 percent occupied.

A new downtown version of the incentives, offered by Compuware Corp., DTE Energy Co., Quicken Loans Inc., Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Strategic Staffing Solutions, is also proving to be popular. Their program has drawn 71 applications from employees interested in moving to downtown property.

Wilson Rumbeiha recently left the Detroit area for Iowa. Once an associate professor of pathobiology and diagnostic investigation at Michigan State University, he took a new job at Iowa State University.

“I wish I could stay here,” he said of Detroit. “It will still be exciting to see the rebirth of our city. Programs like (Live Midtown) are going to help Michigan ride again.”

Applications for Live Midtown incentives are not currently being accepted.