KENTWOOD, Mich. — An empty field in Kentwood will soon become home to hundreds of residents as the city moves forward with a Breton Ravines development project to address its ongoing housing shortage.
The Breton Ravines project will redevelop a 66.6-acre parcel on 52nd Street where Wing Avenue and Breton Avenue each dead end.
The development will include 216 single-family homes and 69 town home rentals.
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Ten of the town homes will be rent-controlled units reserved as income-restricted rentals for households at or below 120% of area median income for 10 years.
It's helping to fill a need for housing in the area.
"Like most other places, there is a housing shortage in Kentwood, as is in Kent County and other places as well," said Lisa Golder, community development director for the city.
The development comes as Kentwood approaches full development capacity. According to Golder, the city is "80 to 85% developed," making available land increasingly scarce for new housing projects.
"We don't have a lot of developable land left in the city, and so this will help deliver that infrastructure that we need to make the housing work in this location," Golder said.
As well as housing, the project will extend part of Breton Avenue from 52nd street to 60th street, which the city hopes will ease traffic congestion on Wing Avenue.
The project will be funded through brownfield tax increment financing, which was recently expanded by the state legislature in 2023 to include housing development as an eligible activity.
"It to allows housing development as an eligible activity, and so that's what allows this to be developed under the Brownfield TIF, and in this case, it's being used for infrastructure." Golder said.
The financing mechanism allows the city to develop areas that were previously difficult to build on due to infrastructure costs.
"It's one of the sites that has always been master plan for residential development, but never developed," Golder said.
The Breton Ravines development represents a significant addition to Kentwood's housing stock as the city continues to grow alongside its expanding business community and industrial base.
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