GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — 90 new affordable housing units are set to come to Grand Rapids by the end of 2024, near the intersection of 43rd and Breton. A groundbreaking for the project, which is called Breton Grove, was held on Tuesday.
All of the units in Brenton Grove will be affordable housing. 33 units will be designed specifically to house the unhoused.
The groundbreaking is a partnership with multiple organizations, with Woda Cooper Companies being the lead development partner.
At Tuesday's groundbreaking event, a new program was unveiled called the Contractor Assistance Program. The program is a partnership between the State Housing Development Authority, Herco, and the Detroit Training Center LLC. The goal of the program is to teach young people how to work in the skilled trades.
“One of the biggest challenges we have in Michigan is providing workers, to actually build these homes,” said Michigan State Housing Development Authority Chief of Staff Gary Heidel.
“Extremely important, for more than one reason. Sustainability. To make sure they have a job, qualified skills. To make sure they’re educated. To make sure they can collaborate with people that are out here,” said Herco, CAP program administrator Phyllis Loudermill. “This is huge. Bankers, developers, state, MSHDA, your governor. This is really huge.”
The work on Breton Grove will be done using the Contractor Assistance Program, which received $1.7 million in state funding to train workers for construction and contracting apprenticeships.
The Breton Grove project is expected to be completed by the end of 2024.
