In 2017, the Community Foundation made a five-year, $500,000 commitment from the Community’s Endowment to fund Housing Next. Seven other local partners also stepped forward to support this work. Led by Executive Director Ryan Kilpatrick, Housing Next’s mission is to partner with local governments, developers, and nonprofits in West Michigan to remove barriers to the creation of housing at all price points.
Housing Next reached the midpoint of its five-year work to create attainable housing options in Ottawa County in 2020. In a presentation to the community, Ryan assessed the progress of this work against a metric of six core goals: zoning flexibility, regional collaboration, private sector investment, nonprofit capacity building, public support for growing the supply of affordable housing, and lean manufacturing and building at scale.
Regional collaboration has been one of the key areas for advancement. The newly re-established Ottawa County Housing Commission provided a critical step for the future of regional housing solutions, as the Commission’s responsibilities include the integration of data across all municipalities pertaining to housing, development, and local policymaking to support more housing at all price points.
The partnership between Housing Next and the County Housing Commission will involve further clarification of Ottawa County’s housing needs, provision of support resources to cities, villages, and townships, and the facilitation of funding opportunities and partnerships to ensure housing is affordable to our regional workforce.
Private sector investments, with companies like Midwest Construction, Black River Flats, and Continental Properties, have added over 1,100 units to the southwest Ottawa County rental market, with another 1,300+ units in the planning stages. There are additional projects underway in northwest Ottawa County to serve middle-income tenants. As these new properties are added to the market, they help level supply and demand which makes rental costs more affordable across the board.
Nonprofit capacity building has been incredibly effective as local organizations collaborate on housing projects, expand their services to include a focus on housing, and share their voices with municipal partners. A three-year grant to Good Samaritan Ministries allowed the organization to launch GSM Properties. GSM offers professional property management services to landlords, while also keeping a client-centered approach to make sure tenants are equipped with the resources they need to thrive and stay accountable. The project has exceeded predictions for growth while providing a functional model for creating attainable housing options.
Over the next two and a half years, Housing Next will continue to work towards meeting its six core goals with a strong focus on public support for attainable housing. An ongoing commitment to public engagement and education is planned to create greater awareness and support for increased housing choice and affordability. Housing Next will also transition its focus from large-scale, multi-family rental developments to include a focus on neighborhood-oriented, small-scale projects that will drive affordability in the for-sale market.