(The Center Square) – Expanding affordable housing continues to be a top priority for Michigan Democrats, who are working to bolster a number of state-funding housing programs.
Among those, the state recently announced it plans to spend at least $10 million to expand workforce housing.
The Employer-Assisted Housing program, which is administered by the Michigan State Housing Development Authority, will partner with employers.
“Employers that contribute matching funds – whether through cash investments, land donation, a below-market interest loan, or some combination thereof – may qualify for resources through the fund to help develop new housing options,” said a press release from the state.
Eligible uses for the funds will include construction projects, as well as “innovative programmatic approaches to housing opportunities such as down payment assistance.”
The program was funded by this year’s state budget appropriations, though a news release said that additional funding could be forthcoming via the legislature.
The program does have some guidelines for employees, including that any rental housing built through the program must remain “affordable” for at least 10 years, while for-sale housing must remain “affordable” for five years.
Employers invest money into a “housing equity fund,” which uses that capital to make investments in housing developments.
One such program is Cinnaire’s Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Investments, which has raised $2.2 billion since 1986 to “support the creation or preservation of 5,870 affordable homes in Michigan.” That is $374,787 per home.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has made expanding affordable housing a key part of her platform while in office.
She announced this specific housing program while speaking at the Northern Michigan Policy Conference on Friday.
“The Employer-Assisted Housing Fund will bring businesses, local government, developers, and MSHDA together to build housing for employees,” said Whitmer. “If we want people to move to our communities for work, they need affordable places to call home nearby. I’m looking forward to seeing new partnerships built so we can work together to build a heck of a lot more housing, grow local business and our population.”
Michigan has labeled Michigan’s housing crisis as “acute,” with the National Low Income Housing Coalition reporting that there is a 190,000 shortage of rental homes affordable and available for extremely low income renters.
