KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – The city of Kalamazoo has given initial approval for a brownfield redevelopment plan for 241 new apartment units off of Michigan Avenue just west of the Western Michigan University campus, but it won’t be student housing.
It will be located halfway between Howard and Drake on a 10-acre site at 3625 West Michigan for residents making 70 to 100% of the average median income.
For the first time, Fishbeck vice president and Brownfield Program manager David Stegink says a new state law permits them to use brownfield funding to help reduce rental rates for 42 of the units.
Mayor Dave Anderson says it’s not the low income affordable housing they need the most, but they also need homes for this income group.
They have been working for three years to get the project off the ground, given the volatility in the housing market, and there is still a chance it could fall through if they still can’t make the numbers work.
If it works out, they could begin demolishing the vacant building on the property next spring.
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