LANSING, Mich. — Sen. Mark Huizenga announced his support of funding for new affordable housing options in Allegan, Kent and Ottawa counties.
“This funding is about helping solve the affordable housing problem in West Michigan — which will also help attract new talent and economic opportunities to our region,” said Huizenga, R-Walker. “I applaud IFF and our local counties for their commitment and hard work to increasing the supply of much-needed housing in our communities.”
IFF, a Midwest Community Development Finance Institution with a regional office in Grand Rapids, received approval of a $10 million loan this week from the Workforce Housing Loan Fund by the Michigan Strategic Fund to make investments in rental residential projects that address attainable housing needs across Allegan, Kent and Ottawa counties.
The state’s support follows locally led investment efforts, as both Kent County and Ottawa County have committed resources to a similar fund with IFF that have leveraged an additional $82.5 million from the CDFI Fund to support housing.
The fund will help meet the housing needs for current and future employees and require that 20% of the units generated will be for individuals and families with incomes between 60% and 120% of area median income and maintain affordability for 10 years.
IFF will utilize the fund to leverage additional funds of up to $55 million to invest in projects and help fill workforce housing needs. Housing need assessments demonstrate that 50,000 housing units will be needed by 2027 to keep up with demand in Ottawa and Kent counties alone.
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