In2023, Governor Gretchen Whitmer commissioned the first-ever statewide housing plan addressing the state’s housing crisis.
“Our housing stock is old—nearly half of all units in Michigan were built before 1970… Young people cite housing affordability as one of their top concerns. These are statewide challenges. In Traverse City, school districts need housing for teachers who have nowhere else to go. On the Westside and in the UP, there just aren’t enough homes for growing families.”
In her 2024 State of the State Address, Governor Whitmer announced a plan for constructing or refurbishing 75,000 units over five years committing $1.4 billion in the next budget.
“At the local level in Kent County, on the supply side alone, we have a 35,000 units housing gap that we’re trying to address in the five-year plan.”
Eureka People is President of Housing Kent. It supports a private-public sector network of organizations and housing providers called the Housing Stability Alliance.
“This group, the Housing Stability Alliance, really has probably the most expertise on where the local housing gaps are across the full continuum of housing from homelessness response all the way to supply and could really help direct those funds and investments in the best way.”
Housing Kent will release its State of Housing report mid-year. A blueprint for how best to address the county’s housing gaps.