DETROIT (WXYZ) — Nearly 300 affordable housing units will be built or preserved in Detroit, Mayor Duggan announced Monday.
The Michigan State Housing and Development Authority awarded Low Income Housing Tax Credit awards to five affordable housing developments in the city.
Collectively, the city says the five awards will create or preserve 282 units of affordable housing in the city for residents earning as little as $16,500 per year and up to $44,000 per year.
Three of the projects will be new construction, creating 271 new units of affordable housing. Two others will renovate a total of 125 units in existing buildings while preserving their affordability for at least the next 30 years. Together, the five projects represent a $122.9 million investment in the city.
“We’ve made a serious commitment to our longtime residents that they will not be pushed out of their homes as our city redevelops, and that there will be housing options for people of all income levels, even in some of the city’s hottest neighborhoods,” Mayor Mike Duggan said in a press release. “I am deeply grateful to our partners and HUD and MSHDA for their confidence in our housing strategy and their support for these important projects.”
The largest of the five projects to be awarded the tax credits in this round is Brush Watson in the historic Brush Park neighborhood immediately north of City Modern.
The award makes a second phase of the project – with 49 affordable units – possible, bringing the number of new units of affordable housing on the site to 163. The previously approved first phase had already planned to add 60 units, with 48 affordable. The mixed-use, mixed-income project will feature three buildings that will encompass an entire city block and include approximately 8,000 square feet of commercial space along Brush Street. There also will be underground parking for residents. The project represents a total investment of $65 million.
Of the total 310 units, 90 will be reserved for residents earning incomes starting about $16,000 to $28,000 a year. Rents for these units will start around $400 a month. The city says another 70 units will be reserved for residents earning about $42,000 per year at a rent around $1,000 a month. Rental assistance will be available for some units.
The other affordable housing projects across Detroit receiving the LIHTC funding include:
· Jim Holley Residences: Named after the church’s longtime leader, all 60 units at the Jim Holley Residences will be affordable, and the new-construction building will feature 5,000 square feet of commercial space. Work on the $17.8 million project at 9001 Woodward Ave. is expected to begin in the spring and take 14 to 15 months to complete. The City of Detroit is supporting the project with a $2 million HOME award. MHT Housing of Bingham Farms is serving as the developer. Total investment: $17.8 million.
· Left Field at former Tiger Stadium site: The other new-construction project receiving LIHTC funding this round will create housing on what was once left field of Tiger Stadium in Corktown, at the Fisher Freeway service drive and Cochrane Street. ACD is developing Left Field, and the first phase includes 60 units, 48 of which are set aside as affordable housing ranging from 30 to 80 percent AMI, with rental assistance available for some of the units. Work is expected to begin next summer. Total investment: $15 million.
· Midtown Square: Located at 93 Seward in New Center, Midtown Square is a historic apartment building originally constructed in the late 1920s. The redevelopment is being performed by John Stanley and Develop Detroit. All 73 of its units will remain affordable. Total investment: $18.5 million.
· Friendship Meadows II: This senior-housing complex at 1003 Leland St. was built in the early 2000s and provides much-needed low-income housing in Detroit’s Forest Park neighborhood. The redevelopment will be conducted by Robert Beale. Its 52 affordable units will remain 100 percent affordable. Total investment: $6.6 million.
