GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — There's a big need for housing in West Michigan. FOX17 has learned Grand Rapids numbers show the city is not hitting its set mark.
"We are going to need at all price points, all kinds of, all types of housing, about another 9000 units by 2025," Grand Rapids Deputy City Manager Kate Berens said.
Those units include everything, from apartments to single-family homes.
Right now, the city has just barely crossed the 1,000 mark in the number of places that are currently turn-key ready.
"We were hoping to get to about 1,100 new units a year, again, some affordable, some market rate across all types of housing. We are finding ourselves a little bit under that target right now." Berens added.
New data published by the city shows this year's number is less than half of 521 for 2021.
The same goes for the number of new affordable housing. The city wants to be at 500 per year, but the latest data shows the current mark is at 350 for 2021.
Berens explains that part of the challenge in creating new housing units is the rising cost of materials.
"We're seeing ourselves as falling short of that target. Again, I think it's partially because of the cost of construction. So we've seen construction materials so expensive that it is harder for projects to make sense economically," Berens said.
The same goes for the number of new affordable housing. The city wants to be at 500 per year, but the latest data shows the current mark is at 350 for 2021.
"There are some larger, affordable housing projects that, again, are out there trying to find; usually affordable housing projects take a couple of years to get fully funded, they need to go through some tax credit rounds and some various ways," Berens told FOX17.
To help with that, the city also has American Rescue Plan Funds. Berens says they're using $5 million towards generating some affordable housing to get them closer to their goal of 9,000 units in the next three years.
Berens added that right now, an additional thousand units are in development.
"We're continuing to dig in there and try to find ways that we are continuing to generate the units that we're going to need to accommodate our growth," she added.
For one, the city recently made zoning changes. Berens says a mixed-use zoning place can now accommodate housing on the first floor.
FOX17 told you in March about a plan that would allow a property owner to sell portions of their lots if it meets certain criteria to increase housing. Recently, the city approved that measure.
"They did clear the way for infill development. So sort of thing somebody has a large yard that's large enough to fit another structure on it, this makes it easy for them to do that," Berens said.
Hopefully easier for more people to call Grand Rapids home.
"I think we always have to be concerned about making sure we have a safety net in place for the most vulnerable citizens. But I know that this community has risen to the challenge in the past," Berens said.
