A Way Home — Housing Solutions: This story is part of Southwest Michigan Second Wave’s series on solutions to homelessness and ways to increase low-income and affordable housing. It is made possible by a coalition of funders, including Kalamazoo County, the ENNA Foundation, and Kalamazoo County Land Bank.
With the announcement of a new name, a collection of state and local officials, and 11 ceremonial shovels, developers and supporters broke ground on the William Schma House, housing that will help residents maintain recovery and rebuild their lives. The day was eight years in the making, and more than once, those speaking from the podium April 14 emphasized that the housing would save lives.
Named after Michigan’s first drug treatment court judge, the nearly $22 million project will feature three buildings and offer 48 affordable homes paired with services designed to provide the support those moving from recovery to the community. It sits on a 6.6-acre site at 333 E. Alcott Street. Integrated Services of Kalamazoo will provide on-site services to connect residents to counseling, care, and recovery support.
The project will offer 24 new one-bedroom housing units for single people in drug treatment court programs, 12 new two- and three-bedroom apartments for families where the head of household is in recovery, and 36 new two- and three-bedroom apartments for low-income families.
Construction is expected to be completed in late 2027.
The crowd was unexpectedly large, spilling out of the tent and into the surrounding field. Many of those gathered for the groundbreaking were catching up with friends and colleagues before the speakers began. And those in attendance reported there was a glow to the event that reflected the happiness of seeing the project moving forward after so many years in the planning stages.
At the culmination of the event, Developer Matt Hollander talked about the decision behind naming the recovery-focused housing for Judge Schma. “We all know how complex recovery is, or we wouldn’t be standing here today. But many people still view drug addiction as a lack of willpower, a character flaw, or a moral failing instead of a chronic brain disease treatable by medical science.
“Judge Schma insisted on a scientific approach, and guess what? It worked. The Michigan Supreme Court has analyzed recidivism and recovery rates for the drug treatment court system against the regular criminal justice system every year. And it works better. It’s lower recidivism and better recovery rates. Those are the facts. Since the ’90s, the model has expanded into over 160 problem-solving courts in Michigan and similar programs in numerous other countries.
“The 48 units we’re breaking ground on today are not just apartments. They are a continuation of this science-based approach. We’re confident that by eliminating housing instability, one of the greatest triggers for relapse, we will help more people achieve their recovery goals. So, Your Honor, it has been our honor to follow in your footsteps. We could not have done any of this without the path that you’ve laid. Because of that, from this day forward, we’re retiring the name KalRecovery. And this will be known as the William Schma House.”
When the announcement came that what had been called Kalrecovery would be known as the William Schma House, the judge expressed his surprise. “I’m stunned and grateful beyond all measure that you don’t get a building named after you until you’re dead,” the judge quipped. “This is a special one. Like everybody has said here, this is not a one-person project. The drug courts are not a one-person project. The result of the work, the vision, and the integrity of thousands of people all over the country. And I’ve been privileged to witness it. And to be a part of it. Extremely grateful. I’m humbled and touched by your gesture.”
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was at the event to celebrate the initiation of construction and hoist a ceremonial shovel. She told the assembled gathering, “This place is going to make a difference for so many Michiganders and their families. Housing saves lives. It helps people in recovery get back on their feet and stay there. When you’re surrounded by a loving, supportive community, and you get the resources that you need to recover, you can maintain your sobriety and achieve your goals. …
“(The William Schma House) will help Michiganders with 48 units of two- and three-bedroom apartments where residents can live with the most important support systems of them all — their families. Residents will enjoy a wraparound support, 40 hours a week of recovery services, group and individual therapy, walking trails, and even a community garden. And thanks to support from MSHDA, no resident will pay more than a third of their income toward rent.”
Whitmer also pointed out that Michigan is making an $800 million investment statewide in opioid treatment, prevention, and mental health services, largely through a legal settlement with opioid pharmaceutical companies. As part of that, there will be expanded availability of recovery housing like this project, the governor said. She noted that Michigan ranks now in the top five states in the country for saving lives from opioids.
Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Director Elizabeth Hertel built on the governor’s remarks, saying that since 2023, the state’s overdose death rate has fallen by more than 35%.
“This is really important, as mentioned multiple times,” Hertel said, “but having recovery housing is so vital for stable long-term recovery. It’s not easy. It’s a really, really difficult journey. And in addition to the other supports, safe and affordable housing plays a critical role in that recovery.
“And we know that people who leave treatment programs generally don’t have somewhere to go. And if they do have somewhere to go, most often their children cannot go with them. What these recovery housing options offer is a place where children can be with their parents in a safe environment. Nothing is more important to us than making sure that children can stay with their families when it is safe to do so. And buildings like this offer that opportunity for families. We continue, at the department, to invest in these sorts of recovery beds. Our goal is to create about 3, 000 more in the next couple of years.”
Referrals to the William Schma House will come through drug treatment court, helping connect people to housing who would otherwise be excluded from obtaining housing.
The collection of officials brought home the complexity of the project that had to deal with environmental complications, rising construction costs, and an ongoing need for housing across the state, especially for those transitioning from recovery to the community.
Michigan Department of Health and Human Services director Elizabeth Hertel, Michigan State Housing Development Authority CEO and executive director Amy Hovey, Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy Director Phillip Roos all announced their departments’ financial commitments to the project.
Those included:
- An MDHHS investment of $2.3 million in opioid settlement funds to support construction of the project and its ability to offer supportive services
- A Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) award of $1.2 million in Low-Income Housing Tax Credits annually to the project, which will generate about $12 million in total investment over 10 years.
- A Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy investment of $1 million to further help clean up the site and prepare it for redevelopment.
As previously announced, Kalamazoo County has committed more than $3.875 million to the project. Funding sources include the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), the “Homes for All” Housing Millage, and the Opioid Settlement Fund.
When she stepped up to the podium, Kalamazoo County Board Chair Jen Strebs talked about the commitment to listening to the community’s voices and working together with many partners. “We know that when we work together, we collaborate together, when we hear each other, we can solve complicated issues and create a brighter future for the community, Strebs said.
The City of Kalamazoo has approved $350,000 in a Housing Development Fund deferred loan and entered into an agreement with the developers to convert an ARPA grant to a deferred loan in the amount of $700,000.
As part of his remarks, Kalamazoo Mayor David Anderson asked for an easier way to complete such a project. “If anyone thinks that there’s anything about this that is snap your fingers and get it done or easy, I would suggest you do nothing else than look at the sources line for what’s going to help fund this, which has been an ever-changing line over the years. We make these things so complicated in this country. We desperately need it. This is the most affordable of affordable housing we’ve created here in a long time. And it’s what we all want. Let’s figure out a way to make it be not so doggone hard.”
EGLE’s Director Roos talked about the complicated history of the property on which the project is being constructed. He explained it was “part of a large paper mill complex that also kind of defined the economy of the area and a little bit of the identity of Kalamazoo. The operations ended in the 1990s, and what was left behind, as is often the case, was a significant amount of environmental contamination.”
That stood in the way of anyone being able to reuse the property, Roos said. Contamination, such as coal ash from the mill’s coal-fired power plant, had entered the soil. There was leaking fuel oil from storage tanks, and wastewater discharges into Portage Creek.
“These are things that needed to end,” Roos continued. “And for us, we work on sites all over the state, but this is honestly one of our longest-running cleanup sites. We’ve been involved for over 20 years. We’ve invested more than $8 million to address the legacy pollution, and that includes removing the old structures in the power plant. Taking over 12,000 cubic feet of soil that was contaminated out of the land. Eliminating multiple underground storage tanks in a massive 500,000-gallon above-ground tank. And then restoring Portage Creek by realigning the channel and rebuilding its flow.
“But that, unfortunately, was just the beginning of our involvement. In 2017, EGLE provided $500,000 in brownfield funding to get the process going on redeveloping another portion of the site, which has become the Kalamazoo Health and Human Services building just across the creek. And then for all that time, we’ve been able to just steadily work to make this formerly contaminated site, we can say, safe, stable, and ready for its next chapter.
“And today I have another announcement. I am proud to say that EGLE is awarding another $1 million grant, a Brownfield grant, to support the (William Schma House) and that will cover any remaining contamination on the site.”
Financial support for the project also was announced by Michigan State Housing Development Authority CEO and executive director Amy Hovey.
“These projects are really hard,” Hovey said. “Doing affordable housing in general has always been difficult. It’s been more difficult in the last four or five years because of the cost of construction going up. We have added costs with tariffs and all the things. But doing housing for a specific population that includes wraparound services, really enabling folks to be successful, is even more difficult. It’s more difficult in lots of different ways. So I just want to start by saying thank you to Hollander Development for their persistence. For their tenacity and for the caring. That goes into taking the time to put these projects together. So thank you, thank you, thank you for that.
“We know in Michigan that we’re still in a housing crisis. We have a lot of housing we need to get done. We know that housing is foundational to the success of all Michigan families. But even more so, those going through recovery. If they do not have a stable place to go at the end of the day, it makes their journey even more difficult. So I’m happy to be a part of this project. I am so thankful for the Kalamazoo County, community, and region. You guys do it right. You do it right. So thank you so much for pulling the money together. You are one of the few counties in our state to put their money where their mouths are in saying that housing is important.
Hayward Babineaux, architect, was one of those gathered for the groundbreaking.
Jason Muniz of Hollander Development with his parents at the groundbreaking for the William Schma house.
“MSHDA is happy to be a part of this program, bringing about $12 million of low-income housing tax credits, as well as housing choice vouchers to provide for that rental assistance. To help make this housing available for everyone going through recovery.”
Some of the kindest words for the project’s developers came from Mark McDaniel, CEO and president of Cinnaire, a national nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution.
McDaniel, who has worked with the Hollanders on projects for over 30 years, said, “They actually care about the people who are going to live in the developments that they’ve created. Not all developers are like that. Actually, I’d say the majority are about: I built the box, I made the money, I’m moving on to the next one. They actually care about the residents.
“You got it done right,” McDaniel told the crowd and developers. “And you have no idea the impact that this is going to have on people. You are actually saving people’s lives. This isn’t just a place that somebody has to live in. You are saving lives. And don’t underestimate the power of that. What you all have done by supporting Matt and putting this together. You’re saving people’s lives.”
Do you know Judge William Schma?
Judge Schma was a pioneer in bringing the brain science of addiction into the courtroom, Matt Hollander said at the groundbreaking for housing that will serve those who are moving from recovery back into the community. Forcing the legal system to recognize it as a chronic relapsing brain disease. In 1992, over the objections of many in his profession, Judge Schma established Michigan’s first drug treatment court right here in Kalamazoo. He also established the first women’s drug court in the United States,” Hollander said
Judge Schma served on the Circuit Court bench from 1987 to 2006 in Kalamazoo County.
Recognized as the Father of Drug Courts in Michigan by the Michigan Association of Treatment Court Professionals (MATCP) in 1999, William Schma was Michigan’s first Drug Treatment Court Judge.
Schma established the nation’s first Woman’s Drug Treatment Court in June of 1992. In 1997, a Drug Treatment Court for men was started. He advocated for separate drug courts because he believed in recovery settings women become invisible in the presence of male participants, and the ability of both sexes to focus on their rehabilitation was compromised.
Judge Schma was a founding member of the Michigan Association of Treatment Court Professionals, as well as the National Association of Treatment Court Professionals (NADCP). He served on the MATCP Board of Directors from 1996 to 2010, and he was the MATCP’s first President.
When he was recognized by MATCP for his work, Schma said: “Looking back on the whole adventure, . . . I really think it (being a Drug Treatment Court judge) was, for me, the most important thing I did as a judge, no question about it,” said Judge Schma. “We’re better people, we’re better judges, but also just better people for the work we have done; it’s more compassionate, more humane, and the good news, it’s more effective.”
He has received the Founders Award and the Stanley M. Goldstein Award from the NADCP and the Champion of Justice Award from the State Bar of Michigan.
Each year, the MATCP gives out the William Schma Achievement Award, which was established in 2004. The award recognizes vision, leadership, and commitment to the Michigan Drug Treatment Court movement.
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