2023 Housing North Annual Report

A MESSAGE FROM OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

When I look back on 2023, I cannot be more proud of our region, our team and the progress we have made towards housing in NW Michigan. Among our many activities, Housing North celebrated FIVE years in 2023, we hosted our first engagement event- Close to Home, which highlighted five storytelling performers around the topic of the meaning of home and shared the 2023 Housing Needs Assessment (HNA) data for all ten counties to guide our housing goals. Our mission is to work with communities to help with their housing needs and we have to remind ourselves every day that this is a marathon, not a sprint. Our communities are making huge strides towards housing and there is a lot to celebrate!

In 2023 we shared the HNA data with all 187 units of government to inform our housing needs for the next five years We formed a regional housing partnership for Region D and created our first Housing Plan for NW Michigan. We were awarded a state enhancement grant to bring our Housing Ready Program to all 10 Counties and make progress on a regional housing fund. We worked hard to bring the new tools passed by the state in 2022 to fruition and celebrated the Housing TIF bill passing in 2023. We also saw many communities step up and implement the tools and make huge strides to bring housing for all residents.

We are so grateful to our partners, sponsors and supporters who believe in us and the work we do. Our impact is not always easily measurable, but we strive to be present, show up and advocate for the housing our communities need. Our team is here to help support your community and housing project. Please do not hesitate to reach out anytime!

My Best,

WHO WE SERVE

We serve a 10-county region in Northwest Michigan. We partner and engage with a variety of stakeholders to lead initiatives and increase capacity to find housing solutions. We are governed by a Board represented by each one of the ten counties we serve and three at large positions.

10 COUNTIES

187 UNITS OF GOVERNMENT

EXPANDING CAPACITY

EVENTS & WORKSHOPS

NWM HOUSING SUMMIT

Our biggest one ever with over 200+ attendees, 30 sponsors and speakers from across the state sharing examples of how their communities are tackling housing and coming up with creative solutions for Northwest Michigan.

STORYTELLING EVENT

This engagement event drew over 75 people We had amazing storytellers and live music. Hosted at Jacob's Farm with Here:Say Storytelling. It was an incredible setting to discuss the importance of homes and making new connections in our efforts.

HOUSING WINS

RENTAL PRESERVATION PROGRAM

COMMUNITY LAND TRUST (CLT) COALITION

We were part of forming a statewide Community Land Trust (CLT) coalition to bring changes to this tool for maintaining housing affordability. The coalition includes attendees from ICCF, Peninsula Housing, Northern Homes Community Development Corporation and the Frankfort Area Community Land Trust.

NEW TOOLS DEVELOPED

NW Michigan was the first region to have two projects submitted to MSHDA using the new tool:

A matching challenge grant from Consumers Energy gave us the opportunity to raise $200,000 for a pilot revolving loan program supporting year round rental projects in the Region. The project supported Peninsula Housing, a Leelanau County based community land trust, to acquire a duplex rental property in Lake Leelanau, with the help of a loan from Housing North The tenants were able to remain in their rental with an opportunity to build additional housing on this same property in the future. The loan payments will be put back into the fund to support future projects.

Housing TIF (Tax Incremental Financing) for projects in Bellaire- Bellaire Lofts (Antrim County) and Petoskey- Maple Block (Emmet County).

City of Manistee considering a Neighborhood Enterprise Zone (NEZ).

Blaire Township, Traverse City, Grand Traverse County and Benzie County adopted a PILOT (Payment in Lieu of Taxes) ordinance to support housing projects for those making up to 120% of the Area Median Income (AMI).

The City of Frankfort created opportunities for an Attainable housing district and residential facilities to support housing in their City.

EXPANDING CAPACITY

HOUSING WINS

GRANTS FOR HOUSING IN OUR COMMUNITY

Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) awarded in the City of Manistee

Over six communities received rural readiness grants from the Office of Rural Development focused on housing with support from our Housing Ready Program. Many communities applied for and received State Land Bank Blight Elimination Grants supported by our Housing Ready team.

NEW HOUSING TOOLS INTRODUCED

PILOTS for Housing

Neighborhood Enterprise Zones

Attainable Housing Facilities Act

Residential Facilities Act

Brownfield/TIF for Housing

New Housing tools summary sheet

LEGISLATIVE WINS

Obtained Housing Ready Enhancement grant for region - $300,000

Housing Tax Increment Financing (TIF) legislation passed expanding a successful tool to include housing development.

Obtained Statewide grants for local zoning reform work - $5 million.

PROJECTS BREAKING GROUND

Petoskey Lofts - (Emmet County) - 60 Units

Grove Place - a Community Land Trust project in Frankfort (Benzie County) - 2 Units

Habitat Northern MI - Meadowlands (Emmet County) - 42 Units

New waves/Habitat for Humanity Grand Traverse Region - (Leelanau County) 14 Units

Homestretch's Vineyard View Apartments(Leelanau County) - 14 Units

Ruth Park LIHTC project (Grand Traverse County) - 58 Units

COMMUNITIES TAKING ACTION

East Bay Township is in the process of adopting zoning changes that align with their master plan following the Michigan Association of Planners best practices using the Zoning Reform Toolkit.

New zoning changes in the City's of Frankfort, Charlevoix and Traverse City to allow increased density for housing in residential districts.

At least 8 communities adopted zoning changes for ADUs including the City of Manistee and Suttons Bay.

New housing groups formed in Benzie, Wexford and Missaukee Counties

These are just a few of the examples of projects and our communities in action We are proud of our region for being engaged in housing solutions!

EXPANDING CAPACITY

A "housing ready" community is one in which there are opportunities for development that can create a variety of housing options for all people in the community.

Housing Ready Communities are healthy, robust, and bursting with opportunity for all They have removed common barriers to attainable housing by coordinating projects between units of government and developers, revising outdated zoning to ensure it supports today’s housing needs, and creating Housing Action Plans and other initiatives that provide clear paths to housing and future growth.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE HOUSING READY PROGRAM

46 HOUSING PROJECTS SUPPORTED BY THE HOUSING READY PROGRAM TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.

77 HOUSING SOLUTIONS PRESENTATIONS

280 PUBLIC MEETINGS REPRESENTING HOUSING INTERESTS

37 EVENTS OR MEETING HOSTED TO SUPPORT HOUSING SOLUTIONS

22 ZONING OR ORDINANCE CHANGES MADE USING OUR HOUSING READY SUPPORT

6+ CELEBRATED GROUNDBREAKING EVENTS

The Housing Ready Program provides technical support to communities around housing including supporting the local Housing Action Groups or Teams to help the community meet their housing goals. It is a shared capacity model that brings together philanthropic partners and units of government to help create solutions and remove barriers to housing. The program works with all the stakeholders to form strong allies and ultimately help create housing opportunities. The support includes technical assistance for zoning reform, connects developers with housing opportunities, and helps communities navigate housing tools and resources.

With grants and individual donations, we were able to expand our Housing Ready support in 2023 to 3 additional counties (Antrim, Benzie and Grand Traverse).

BUILDING AWARENESS

PRIORITY GOALS

1.

Increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the housing ecosystem by enhancing collaboration among stakeholders.

2.

Increase access to stable and affordable quality housing options for extremely low income households

REGIONAL HOUSING PLAN

Housing North was chosen as the Regional Housing Partnership lead for Region D through the Statewide Housing Partnership at the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA). Our task was to gather all the stakeholders in the region to create our own Regional Housing Plan for Region D. We successfully submitted the plan to MSHDA and formed the stakeholders groups for its implementation.

4.

Increase the supply of the full spectrum of housing and missing middle that is affordable and attainable to residents.

3. Increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the housing ecosystem by enhancing collaboration on housing among state agencies, philanthropy, local governments, Tribal Nations, education and the wide variety of private-sector organizations that make up the housing ecosystem

HOUSING NEEDS ASSESSMENT

With support from the Frey Foundation, Networks Northwest, and Hagerty, Housing North conducted a Housing Needs Assessment of our 10-county region in northern Michigan. The (HNA) provides interested stakeholders with the base of knowledge to make informed strategic decisions on housing priorities and plans by understanding the housing needs. The study identified a housing gap of 8,813 rental units in the region over the five-year projection and an overall regional for-sale housing gap of approximately 22,455 units over the five-year projection period. In addition to the report, Housing North launched summary reports for each county to help gain a deeper understanding of housing types needed and current stock

DONATIONS WE ARE THANKFUL FOR YOU

Jan and Jim Bardenhagen

Nancy and Joe Belton

Cash Cook

Susan Ager & Larry Coppard

Paige Crim

Maureen Delaney-Lehman

Connie Denewith

Karen Donnelly-Strough

Marissa Duque

Jeanine Easterday

John and Gina Erb

Debbie & Bill Hershey

Kristin Hettich

Rachel Huntman

Lynn and Kirk Jabara

Monica Farrier

Madeline and Mark Francavilla

Jacob's Farm

Jeff Geeseman

Wendy and Paul Greeney

Janet Koch

Maryl Kohl

Sallie & Scott Krepps

Little Traverse Tileworks

Jill & Richard Lutz

John Lynch

Kerry Maloney

Jillian Manning

Larry Mawby

Marcie Meditch & John Murphey

Sara Michael

Christine Minervini

Chelsea Morris

Mark O'Dell

John O'Neill

Sharon & Patrick Oriel

Patrick Patterson

Kristina Pepelko

Precision Plumbing and Heating

Refuge Salon

Chad Rickman

Anne & Mike Rivard

Gary Scheuren

Adrienne & Derek Shiels

Barbara & Frank Siepker

Carlin and Karen Smith

Dibby & Scott Smith

The Good Bowl

Carol Waters

Susan Wenzlick

Jill Whelan

Jay White

Rita & Bill Witler

EVENT SPONSORS

4Front Credit Union Area Agency on Aging of Northwest Michigan

Aspire North REALTORS CEDAM

Cherry Republic

Cinnaire

Cunningham-Limp DTE Energy

Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianaplis

Fishbeck Consulting

Golden Swan Management

Goodwill Northern Michigan

Great Lakes Capital

Habitat for Humanity Grand Traverse Region

Hollander Development Corporation

Huntington Bank IFF

Independent Bank

Innovo

Leelanau Chamber of Commerce

Leelanau Peninsula Economic Foundation

Manistee Area Chamber of Commerce

Michigan Community Capital

Michigan State Housing Development Authority

Michigan State Land Bank

Munson Healthcare

Networks Northwest

Northwest Michigan Community Action Agency, Inc.

Skydive Harbor Springs

The Boardman Review

The Solvent Group

Traverse Benefits

Traverse City Housing Commission

Wolverine Building Group

WE ARE THANKFUL FOR YOU

HOUSING READY PROGRAM SUPPORT

Bingham Township

Cadillac Area Community Foundation

Charlevoix County

Charlevoix County Community Foundation

Charter Township of Filer

City of Boyne City

City of Charlevoix

City of East Jordan

City of Harbor Springs

City of Manistee

City of Manistee Housing Commission

City of Petoskey

City of Traverse City

Grand Traverse Regional Community Foundation

Leelanau County

Leelanau Christian Neighbors

Leelanau Township Community Foundation

Manistee County

Manistee County Community Foundation

Manistee County Visitors Bureau

Missaukee Area Community Foundation

North Central Michigan College

Petoskey-Harbor Springs Area Community Foundation

Suttons Bay Chamber of Commerce

Rotary Club of Petoskey

United Way of Manistee County

Village of Kalkaska

CONTACT US AND LEARN MORE ABOUT HOUSING NORTH AND OUR PROGRAMS!

Yarrow Brown, Executive Director

Andrea Jacobs, Emmet County Housing Ready Director

Tracy Davis, Manistee County Housing Ready Program Coordinator

Zach Sompels, Charlevoix County Housing Ready Program Coordinator

GRANTS AND FOUNDATIONS

Consumers Energy Foundation

The Frey Foundation

Grand Traverse Regional Community Foundation

Hagerty

HP Foundation

Huntington Bank Foundation

Michigan State Housing Development Authority

Oleson Foundation

Roland M. Gerstacker Foundation

HELP FOR HOUSING STARTS WITH YOUR SUPPORT

Your home is so much more than your address and that's why we are so thankful for your support Our work would not be possible without you! Your generosity makes our work possible.

If you'd like to contribute and continue supporting our communities, consider becoming a sustaining donor or exploring other ways to donate. Your support enables us to make a difference every day!

Housing North welcomes all types of gifts. One time donations, monthly donations and gifts in memoriam or gifts in support of specific programs, are always appreciated. Gifts can be submitted online, by mail, or in person.

Click here to learn more about the ways you can support the future of Northern Michigan!

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