KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – Kalamazoo County commissioners will get a closed-door update Tuesday on a lawsuit brought by a local developer who claims the county board broke its promise when it yanked away a grant from the housing millage.
Pavilion MFD, LLC claims in court documents that it applied for and received approval for a $936,000 grant for its $64 million Abbey42 development just east of Portage. They say their business plan relied on that funding source.
The county claimed that the developer failed to meet affordability standards when they set their rental rates and so they withdrew the grant, before final approval.
The lawsuit is over who said what and when and who violated the agreement.
Abbey42 was among the largest contracts awarded in the first-of-its-kind millage funded housing subsidy program.
The developer claims that the Upjohn Foundation housing study used by the county as the basis for their program states “that the development of new market-rate housing has the effect of freeing up lower income housing in the same community.” They argue that it should qualify for the funding regardless of whether it met the definition of “affordable housing.”
Giving the millage money to developments that don’t provide housing for low income households has been a sore point for some commissioners, who feel that should be a priority for the program.
Commissioners will be updated on the progress of the suit behind closed doors, and if their attorneys ask for any action on the report, it will have to be done in open session.
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