Michigan allots $5.4 million for worker housing, down payment help

• The Michigan State Housing Development Authority announced $5.4 million in grant rewards to employers seeking to build housing
• The funding comes as part of the $10 million Employer-Assisted Housing Fund, an initiative Gov. Gretchen Whitmer unveiled in January
• The program aims to add housing in parts of the state where employers say their employees struggle to find housing

LANSING — The Michigan State Housing Development Authority on Thursday announced $5.4 million in grant funding for seven employers across the state as part of a program recently announced by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. 

The $10 million Employer-Assisted Housing Fund initiative, which Whitmer unveiled in January, is meant to help employers add housing in areas of the state with limited affordable housing options for employees.

It’s the administration’s latest attempt to keep up with housing demands in the state, which has added about one housing unit for every 14 jobs created between 2014 and 2023, according to MSHDA.

“If we want people to move to communities for work, they need affordable places to call home,” Whitmer said earlier this year.

The new program provides employers with matching funds from the state, under the condition the resulting housing must remain “affordable” for at least 10 years if it is a rental and at least five years if it is for-sale housing. 

“These grants are more than an investment in housing; we’re investing in our workforce, our economic stability, and our future,” Amy Hovey, MSHDA CEO and executive director, said in a statement.

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The awards announced Thursday will help support housing for an estimated 479 income-eligible households across Michigan. 

Another $4.6 million in grant funding still remains available, though it was not immediately made clear when it would be disbursed. Applications for grant funding remain open.

Munson Healthcare, Traverse City

Munson Healthcare, a 442-bed hospital in Traverse City, will receive $500,000 in grant funding to create a housing stipend for 42 employees after putting forward $500,000 of its own funds for the project. 

Employees with Munson Healthcare must sign a 24-month employment contract to qualify for up to $1,000 a month in housing support. 

State officials estimate the funding will help anywhere from 42 to 62 families with housing and “support the recruitment and retention of newly hired clinical and support staff” with the aim of keeping them in northern Michigan. 

Manthei, Inc., Petoskey

Manthei, Inc. — also known as Manthei Wood Products, in Petoskey — will receive $490,000 in matched grant funding for a housing down payment assistance program supporting a minimum of 14 employees. 

Manthei, which specializes in manufacturing hardwood face veneers and plywood, would provide up to $70,000 in total down payment assistance to an employee, with preference given to those already employed by the firm.

Once all current employees have the opportunity to apply for the down payment assistance program, the company noted it would use the money to recruit new talent “if funds remain.”

Sun Title, Grand Rapids

Having donated land valued at an estimated $3.1 million, state officials have awarded the Grand Rapids-based Sun Title $2 million for the development of a five-story, mixed-use building containing 171 residential units.

These units will be priced at or below 120% of area median income, or AMI, which for Kent County totals $89,400 for a single person. Of the 171 units, 43 will be studio units, 112 will be one-bedroom units and the remaining 16 will be two-bedroom units. 

Overall, 37 of the building’s units will specifically be employer-assisted housing for Sun Title, title insurance and real estate closing company, though MSHDA did not detail how many rooms these units would contain. 

It was previously announced in June 2024 that a five story, 181 unit apartment with a ground-floor cafe would be built on the land Sun Title owned, which is adjacent to its offices in Grand Rapids. At the time, it was estimated the build would cost $35 million and include 86 studio apartments, 91 one-bedroom units and four two-bedroom units.

Cascade Engineering and Spectrum Enterprise, Wyoming

Employees at Cascade Engineering, a large-tonnage plastic injection molding company, and Spectrum Enterprise, an internet and communication service group, will also benefit from a down payment assistance program, MSHDA announced Thursday.

Both companies — working with The SOURCE, a Grand Rapids-based nonprofit —  put forward $50,000 apiece to receive a cumulative $100,000 in matched grant funding from the state’s employer-assisted housing program.

The money will be used to give down payment help to 27 workers between the two employers. Cascade Engineering plans to give $6,000 to 17 of its workers, and Spectrum Enterprise wants to give $10,000 each to 10 of its employees. 

The SOURCE would then be in charge of administering the grant funding on behalf of both Cascade and Spectrum, which are partner employers through the nonprofit.

Champion Automotive Group, Inc., Royal Oak

MSHDA will also match a $2 million contribution from Champion Automotive Group, Inc. for the creation of a five-story, 209-unit multi-family complex — known as the Lincoln Place — in downtown Royal Oak.

The development will be a mix of studio and two-bedroom apartments, with 20 of the 209 units designated as employer-assisted housing. Those units will be restricted to tenant households with incomes at or below 120% area median income for Oakland County, which ranges from $84,840 for a single person to $121,200 for a four-person household.

News of the project first broke in August 2024. At the time, the development was expected to be a five-story, 158-unit apartment complex with estimated building costs between $45 million and $55 million. 

Proposed amenities for the project in 2024 included exterior seating areas, an indoor fitness center and a dog walk, per Crain's Detroit Business.

Greater Flint Health Coalition, Flint

The state will also match a $300,000 contribution from the Greater Flint Health Coalition to implement a down payment assistance program for employees of the health coalition and Hurley Medical Center. 

Program funds will be used as assistance for those purchasing a home at The Gatehouse, a 16-unit, two- and three-bedroom condominium project developed by the Genesee County Land Bank.

How much an employee can benefit from the funding is dependent on that employee’s income, the housing resources available and their debt-to-income ratio, with the ultimate goal being to keep applicant housing costs below 36% of their household’s gross monthly income.