4 Vacant Grand Rapids Homes Could be Rehabilitated into Affordable Housing
Industry Update
July 11, 2023
Source: mlive.com
Four vacant homes in Grand Rapids would see new life under tentative plans to rehabilitate them and offer them to families earning less than the area median income.
On Tuesday, July 11, Grand Rapids city commissioners initially approved giving House to Home Restorations the option to purchase the properties for $17,000 each for the rehabilitation of vacant homes located on the properties. The homes would then be sold to families making 80% of the area median income (AMI) or less.
Final approval is expected to come at the commission’s 2 p.m. meeting Tuesday via a sweeping consent agenda vote.
City officials previously said 80% AMI in the Grand Rapids area is $50,150 for a household of one, $57,300 for two, $64,450 for three and $71,600 for four.
The option agreement gives House to Home Restorations the ability to buy the properties within a year contingent on the nonprofit finalizing financing and building plans for the homes. A six month extension beyond that year is available.
The four properties are located at 854 First St. NW, 914 Sherman St. SE, 546 Neland Ave. SE and 1624 Lafayette Ave. SE.
“The House to Home organization has previously purchased some of the landbank property and successfully redeveloped, remodeled it and recently sold it as well,” Jeremiah Gracia, Grand Rapids director of economic development, told commissioners Tuesday. “So there is a history of success with this particular development group.”
The properties would also likely receive state blight elimination grants through the city. Those dollars, which range from an estimated $18,125 to $35,750 per home, could be used for roof replacement, debris removal, retaining wall replacement and more, according to city documents.
Including the grant dollars, the project costs to rehabilitate the homes are estimated at:
- $99,125 for the First Street property
- $138,850 for the Sherman Street property
- $125,000 for the Neland Avenue property
- $110,500 for the Lafayette Avenue property
Including these four properties, the city has about 57 vacant properties available for development. City officials previously said some of the properties are more difficult to develop due to size, shape or access.
For full report, please click the source link above.
