KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – Kalamazoo County has put a major dent in the housing crisis with one of the most aggressive community efforts in the state, with a lot more needed and to come.
The data comes from the Kalamazoo County Housing Department’s latest annual report.
Much of the public funding so far comes from the county’s one-of-a-kind “Housing for All” millage, adopted by voters four years ago.
County board chair Jen Strebs says it has been spent leveraging tens of millions more from private and non-profit investors for new homes.
Five-million-dollars from the millage has been spent rehabilitating existing homes and making others accessible to people with disabilities.
The Kalamazoo County Housing Department has also opened the Landing Place, the first and largest transitional housing shelter for the homeless in Michigan and also provided startup funding for a pilot shelter for the homeless with chronic illnesses, with the help of WMed and the Continuum of Care.
They have all but eliminated home foreclosures due to tax liens and nailed down a $23-million grant to take on the biggest challenge, providing new housing for low-income residents, which will take different strategies in the years ahead.
The city of Kalamazoo is pitching in HUD money and millions from the Foundation for Excellence, for specific projects and tax breaks for homeowners to make housing more affordable, and Portage has also committed time and funding into innovative housing projects. There is also a long list of non-profit agencies, engaged in the effort.
Despite all that attention, there is still a long way to go to reach the estimate from the Upjohn Institute that the community will need 8000 new homes by the year 2030 to meet local demand.
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