Michigan State Housing Development Authority

Kentwood Commission approves Brownfield TIF for new $30-million housing development by Allen Edwin Homes. (Rendering Courtesy, City of Kentwood)

The Kentwood City Commission approved a Brownfield TIF plan to support a 216-unit housing development by Allen Edwin Homes and extend Breton Avenue.

The $30-million project will redevelop a 66.6-acre parcel at 2720 52nd St. SE, 2854 52nd St. SE and 5491 Wing Ave. SE, creating 216 new single-family homes, including 69 townhome rentals, to the city. Ten of the single-family townhomes will be rent-controlled units reserved as income-restricted rentals for households at or below 120% of area median income for 10 years.

In addition to new housing, the project includes the extension of Breton Avenue from 52nd Street to 60th Street, which will ease traffic congestion on Wing Avenue.

“With the Brownfield TIF, we are able to partner with developers to make improvements that benefit the whole community,” said Kentwood Community Development Director Lisa Golder. “These projects will help us meet the growing demand for housing in our city while also delivering the much-needed extension of Breton Avenue.”

Brownfield tax increment financing, or TIF, is a development tool available to help offset costs in revitalizing vacant, damaged or polluted properties and giving them new, useful lives through redevelopment. In 2023, the Michigan State Housing Development Authority expanded the tool to include workforce housing development and rehabilitation as an eligible activity for TIF reimbursement.

Kentwood Commission approves Brownfield TIF for new $30-million housing development by Allen Edwin Homes. (Map Courtesy, City of Kentwood)

Construction is expected to begin in spring 2026, starting with extending Breton Avenue and then the 69 rental units. The entire 216-unit housing development is expected to be completed by 2043.

Kentwood’s Brownfield Redevelopment Authority approved the application on Aug. 18. Final reimbursement agreements and project plans will now be submitted for state review. If approved, the TIF revenue collection is expected to begin in 2026, with capture planned for up to 18 years.

More information about Brownfield TIFs and how to apply for a property in the City of Kentwood, contact Community Development Director Lisa Golder at golderl@kentwood.us or 616-554-0709.

Many have probably seen the animated ad with the house running away from its owner. The ad is for the state run program Step Forward Michigan, a federally funded program designed to help homeowners facing foreclosure. A program, Kent County Treasurer Kenneth Parrish strongly supports.

“I’m a big supporter of the Step Forward Michigan program,” Parrish said during a recent news conference that brought together county treasurers for Kent, Ottawa and Kalamazoo counties along with representatives from the Michigan State Housing Development Authority. THE MSHDA oversees the Step Forward Michigan program in collaboration with the Michigan Homeowner Assistance nonprofit Housing Corporation.

“Since 2010, the program has helped nearly 1,700 Kent County residents with over $15 million in loans making us the fourth largest user of the program,” Parrish said, adding that of that about $13.9 million was used to cover mortgage payments, $1.2 million for unpaid property taxes and another $15,000 for condominium payments.

Federal funded with $500 million, almost 35,000 Michigan homeowners have qualified for around $308 million in loans since the program started seven years ago. There is about $40 million left to help eligible households but the clock is ticking as the deadline to apply is 2020.

“The Step Forward Program offers great opportunities for families to stabilize their situation and to save their homes,” Parrish said. “We take no pleasure on foreclosing on homes here in Kent County. If you have fallen behind in your property tax, mortgage or condominium payments, I urge you to check out the Step Forward Michigan Program and see if you can get a load that will ultimately help you keep your home.”

Those who have been hit with a hardship – medical event, job loss or underemployment, death, divorce, one-time critical out-of-pocket expense – can get up to a $30,000 interest-free loan to get caught up on property tax, mortgage or condo payments. If the homeowner stays in the home for five years, the loan is forgiven and they do not have to pay back the loan, according to MSHDA Executive Director Earl Poleski.

Kent County Treasurer Kenneth Parrish talks about the Step Forward Michigan program at a recent news conference.

To qualify for assistance, a homeowner must be a Michigan resident, have an ownership interest in the property and be able to sign a new mortgage lien on property, occupy property as his or her primary resident, have enough income to cover the mortgage, condo association fees, and/or property tax payments going forward, and have cash reserves no greater than $10,000.

Any homeowner convicted in the past 10 years on a financial-related felony, including larceny, theft, fraud, forgery, money laundering and/or tax evasion, is not eligible for the program.

A homeowner can receive a loan only once from the program. The average loan amount has been $7,383. Loan payments go directly to the county treasurers office, mortgage lender or condominium association, not to the homeowner

According to state officials, the process to find out if a home owner is eligible is easier than filling out a full mortgage application. Those interested can go to StepForwardMichigan.org and fill out the questions to see if they are eligible or call 866-946-7432.

Kent County residents can also reach out to the Inner City Christian Federation or ICCF at 616-336-9333 or the Home Repair Services of Kent County at 616-241-2601.