 Sable Homes, in cooperation with Fishbeck, the City of Newaygo, Newaygo County, and the State Land Bank Authority (SLBA), kicked off phase two of the River Hills neighborhood in Newaygo this week with a ribbon cutting ceremony, marking the official welcoming of a pilot program designed to increase Michigan’s housing stock and help alleviate the region’s housing crisis.
Speakers at the ribbon cutting included those who have been working on the project for the past two years, including Emily Doerr, Director of the SLBA.
“This project is the first in the state to use a partnership with us to meet the goals of local government stakeholders in terms of more attainably-priced housing,” said Emily Doerr. “We held on to the property from fall of 2020 to early 2021. During that time, the property taxes were reset to zero, slightly increasing the amount of tax revenues that could be used to repay Sable Homes for its eligible expenses through an approved local-only Act 381 plan allowing for a smaller construction loan on the front end. This means sales prices can be a bit lower and thus attainable to moderate-income houses on the backend. We will be reimbursed from tax revenues for participating in the project, and the county will keep some of the tax increment revenues for a county brownfield revolving fund after Sable Homes is reimbursed. It’s a win-win.”
Prior to Sable Homes taking over the River Hills Estates in Newaygo in 2017, it had sat unfinished for nearly 15 years after the original developer pulled out with only four homes completed. Within two years, Sable Homes built on and sold homes on the remaining 27 lots. In order to complete the final phase of the neighborhood with 16 new home sites, Sable Homes, the City of Newaygo, SLBA, Newaygo County and its Brownfield Redevelopment Authority, The Right Place, and Fishbeck came together to seek brownfield incentives to help pay for infrastructure and site preparation and environmental costs to bring needed housing stock to the region. Those incentives were approved by the Newaygo County Brown Field Authority in 2020, allowing the project to move forward using tax increment financing (TIF), an old incentive applied in a new way to close a construction funding gap.
“We have a great community here in the city of Newaygo with residents who enjoy living and working here. But for many of our residents, it’s hard to find new housing that’s affordable,” said Schneider, Newaygo city manager. “We are grateful that John Bitely understood the housing need here and worked with state and local officials to find a way to bring affordable new homes to our area. We hope what we’ve done here will gain some notoriety and help close the housing gap in other areas of the state.”
View the full press release here.
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