Hadley Streng is president of the Grand Haven Area Community Foundation.
The Grand Haven Area Community Foundation (GHACF) has decided to continue to focus on growing affordable housing in Ottawa County.
GHACF’s board of trustees recently voted to move ahead with a $1.5 million investment in the Affordable Housing Revolving Loan Fund at IFF. Designed to help address the housing need in Ottawa County, the Affordable Housing Revolving Loan Fund was created when Ottawa County committed $10 million of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to establish it in partnership with IFF and Housing Next.
“Ottawa County continues to outpace the state in population growth and has led the way with investments to drive housing solutions,” says Brooke Oosterman, Housing Next’s director of policy and communications. “The establishment of the fund, and investments made, are critical when demand continues to increase, and simultaneously the cost of construction and interest rates have increased. We are thankful for the leadership of the Grand Haven Area Community Foundation and community stakeholders whose investments will accelerate the work of bringing critically needed new housing units online now.”
15,000 more homes needed
Housing Next, a collaborative effort to remove barriers to the creation of housing at all price points, reports at least 15,000 more homes are needed by 2025 to meet the demands of the growing workforce. The GHACF co-leads Housing Next, and this most recent investment is an additional way the foundation supports access to greater housing availability in Ottawa County.
“This fund helps lower the cost of the capital needed for affordable housing projects, which will have an intentional impact on Ottaway County,” says Hadley Streng, president of the GHACF. “We hope to set the tone and encourage other organizations and corporations to invest in supporting their workforces.”
The Revolving Loan Fund is managed by IFF, one of the country’s highest-rated Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI). IFF pledged to match the county investment in a 30/70 split, with IFF committing to the larger portion of the fund. The GHACF invested an initial $1.5 million in IFF in 2021, focusing on developing and expanding for-impact services in Northwest Ottawa County.
Launching first in Ottawa County
“IFF is committed to providing capital and resources to nonprofits serving under-resourced communities so they can build long-term financial stability to help their communities continue to thrive,” says Chris Uhl, IFF’s executive director for the Eastern Region. “The partnership with the GHACF has been an integral part in bringing the Revolving Loan Fund to life, and this additional investment to support the launch of our statewide housing fund, launching first in Ottawa County, is a huge opportunity for IFF to show up even more to support these local communities.”
The funds will be loaned at low-interest rates to developers committed to building affordable homes targeting median-income households.
In addition to the 2021 investment in IFF, the GHACF made a similar investment in 2020 with Michigan Community Capital, which has since completed Robinson Landing, an affordable housing development on Comstock Street in Grand Haven. All three investments keep the money local to this region.
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