JACKSON, Mich. — The city of Jackson sold two lots to a Cincinnati development company planning to build an apartment complex.
The Greenwood would be a 3-story, 51-bedroom development for workforce housing, according to Public Information Officer Aaron Dimick.
“There are people who maybe young professionals with their first job or people in the workforce who work in the service industry, or just families who are of a moderate income. This is going to be a housing development for them,” he said.
MVAH Developer Pete Schwiegeraht said it will target 80 percent of Jackson’s area median income. According to the United States Census Bureau, that number is $21,401 for individuals and $35,464 for households.
“People making $15 to $25 an hour is kind of our typical bandwidth. That said, there is no age restriction. Certainly, young or old would benefit from the building,” Schwiegeraht said.
The $13 million project would combine lots on West Wilkins Street in the Partnership Park neighborhood with five adjacent vacant lots on Greenwood Avenue.
The development would be energy efficient with modern amenities.
Schwiegeraht says that is based on the National Green Building Standards, which is the only green building rating system for homes and apartments approved by the American National Standards Institute. According to its website, the NGBS provides a blueprint for builders to follow for the design and construction of new and renovated single-family homes and multi-family apartment buildings.
“There’s just an underserved market,” Schwiegeraht said. “There’s a real a need for more housing options. There is limited options available and there is still a need for more. We’re just trying to serve households in Jackson with high quality options to match the need in the market.”
It is not a done deal yet as there are five lots currently owned by the Community Action Agency. The sale for the city owned lots were $10,000. If the development does not take off within a “certain amount of time” that was not disclosed, the city will get the property back and it will be redeveloped for something else.
“So, it’s still in the early stages,” Dimick said.
The next step for MVAH is to acquire the rest of the lots and then look for local and state tax incentives to help offset the cost.
MVAH Partners also built the Francis Senior Lofts and are planning construction for The Blackstone.
“We want to make sure that our residents have safe, affordable places to live,” Dimick said. “The majority of our city lives in rentals or they don’t own their own home. We have so many people who have low-to-moderate income and they rely on rental properties. We want to make sure that they have the best that’s available.”
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