KALAMAZOO, MI — Construction workers in bright green vests unloaded dirt from giant yellow trucks Wednesday, as developers and local officials gathered on a patch of artificial grass near the Kalamazoo River.
Together, they broke ground on a 228-unit, affordable housing project on Wednesday, Oct. 9, near 508 Harrison St. All of the units at the complex, being called River’s Edge, will be income-based.
The project, said Kalamazoo Mayor David Anderson, is a needed step in the right direction when it comes to addressing the area’s housing crisis.
“Although this project will not solve that and necessarily take care of it fully, the only way to address homelessness is having a place for people to live,” Anderson said. “Everybody (in the county) recognizes the need and this is a solution.”
The affordable housing complex hopes to be ready to welcome residents by May 2026, said River Caddis Development CEO Kevin McGraw.
River’s Edge will offer a mix of residential and retail space, with studio, one- and two-bedroom units, per planning documents. Residents will have access to a clubhouse and fitness center overlooking the river and Kalamazoo Valley River Trail.
A development is being planned at 508 Harrison in Kalamazoo.
In addition to two four-story apartment buildings along Gull Road, Michael Flynn, director of architecture with Abonmarche Byce, said the development will offer four live-work units, where people can live above retail spaces across from the People’s Food Co-op.
In the making since 2017, the $55 million project is a collaborative effort between state and local officials, McGraw said.
Over the course of seven years, the project has grown to include both 508 Harrison and 660 Gull Road, McGraw said. It overcame a global pandemic, a 100-year flood on the site and lasted three U.S. presidents.
RELATED: Demolition near Kalamazoo River makes way for income-based housing
The city of Kalamazoo, which started the project with a bid looking for developers to build on the vacant property, approved a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) agreement for the project in June.
“The city has got to be proactive incentivizing housing development, particularly affordable housing development,” Anderson told the Kalamazoo Gazette/MLive.
Kalamazoo Mayor David Anderson speaks at the River's Edge groundbreaking ceremony on Oct. 9. Behind him, work is underway. Audrey Whitaker
Of the 228 units, 81% will be rented to people who earn less than 60% of the area median income, which is $42,360 a year for a single person. The other 44 units will be for those who earn less than 120% of the AMI.
The monthly rent is not allowed to exceed 30% of the household’s income for any of the units, per city documents. This agreement allowed developers to secure financing from the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA).
“We finance projects like this one because housing is foundational to life itself,” said MSHDA Rental Development Director Chad Benson. “Your kids' success in their education, your access to a good job, your physical health are all impacted by whether you have quality, stable and affordable place to live.”
Developers also received $2.6 million in grant funding from the Michigan Department of Energy, Great Lakes and Environment (EGLE) for environmental cleanup.
Due to past industrial activity on the properties — including use as a storage yard, foundry, machine shop and heat-treating facility — EGLE officials identified petroleum and metal compound contamination on the site in 2022.
The site also endured a flood in 2017, McGraw said, forcing developers to have to add 12 inches of soil to the site before construction could begin.
“Once you’re in, you’re in," McGraw said.
Given its size, cost and environmental challenges, a project like this one is extremely challenging to accomplish in the current housing market, Anderson said.
The mayor said he is grateful for the people who saw it through.
“Difficult takes us a while, possible takes a little longer,” Anderson said. “We’re doing the impossible."
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