Nine West Michigan affordable housing projects get tax credits

 

GRAND RAPIDS — Nine proposed affordable housing projects in West Michigan have been awarded tax credits.

The Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) announced Tuesday that a total of 18 projects across the Lower Peninsula received federal low-income housing tax credits (LIHTC) in the October 2018 funding round, totaling more than $15 million. The funds will go toward major renovation and construction projects to build or rehab 977 apartment units.

“We have seen some really thoughtful, strategic plans for high-quality affordable housing in this funding round,” said Executive Director Earl Poleski in a press release.

Six projects in Grand Rapids were awarded LIHTCs, including Grand Rapids-based Dwelling Place, which was awarded $1.6 million to construct Franklin Apartments and Grandville Apartments. The two projects are part of Plaza Roosevelt, a collaboration between eight partners to transform a two-block area along Grandville Avenue SW and Franklin Street. The 5.5-acre site will also have a new high school, medical services and commercial space.

The combined investment from the two Plaza Roosevelt projects will leverage approximately $14.2 million of private money in Grand Rapids, according to MSHDA.

“The Plaza Roosevelt plan is remarkable because it’s an affordable housing plan that’s greater than the sum of its parts,” Poleski said. “This project will strengthen health, education and economic outcomes in the area. I’m proud of our partners for gathering local input and creating infrastructure that residents of the Roosevelt Park neighborhood need.”

MSHDA also awarded Dwelling Place nearly $1.4 million in LIHTC for Ferguson Apartments in Grand Rapids.

Other Grand Rapids projects in the region receiving LIHTC included:

  • Tapestry Square Senior Living, a project of the Inner City Christian Federation and Chesapeake Community Advisors, $1.5 million
  • The Edge Flats on Seward, Commonwealth Development Corp., $812,627
  • West Garfield Apartments, LINC Up, $604,944

Elsewhere in West Michigan, MSHDA awarded more than $1.3 million in LIHTC to General Capital Development LLC for the Niles Post Office Apartments in Niles, nearly $350,000 to T J Acquisitions LLC for the Whitehall II Apartments in Whitehall, and more than $272,000 to Hollander Development Corp. for its Harbour Pointe project in Montague.


Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect the proper name for Commonwealth Development Corp.