Four West Michigan housing nonprofits will receive $4.2 million in state grant funding to construct or upgrade 71 homes and rental units.
The funding is part of a total $8.4 million that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer today announced will help preserve and add housing under the state’s Missing Middle Housing Program.
“Expanding affordable housing is critical to helping Michigan families put down roots in their communities,” Whitmer said in a statement. “That’s why I set a goal for Michigan to create or preserve 75,000 housing units over the next four years. Today’s announcement will get us closer to that goal by investing in affordable housing across the state.”
The housing program is funded by $50 million from the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). State guidelines for the grant program, administered by the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA), require most housing units to be occupied by households that are between 185 percent and 300 percent of the federal poverty guideline.
West Michigan organizations and grant recipients this funding round are Dwelling Place of Grand Rapids ($2.5 million for 42 homes), Big Rapids Housing ($362,500 for five homes), Lakeshore Habitat for Humanity ($720,000 for 12 homes), and Lake & Main Homestretch NP ($600,000 for 12 rental units).
To qualify for the Missing Middle Housing Program, organizations had to have a tax-exempt nonprofit status and track record of doing business in Michigan.
“We knew before the pandemic that there were limitations in our state’s housing stock, and the pandemic exacerbated some of those challenges. These funds are essential in helping us equitably fill some of those gaps by increasing affordability,” Benson, rental development director at MSHDA, in a statement.
A second funding round for the Missing Middle Housing Program will be announced in spring of 2023, when grants will similarly be awarded for new construction and rehabilitation to single-family homes or rental units.