Page 9 - Samaritas Our Hands Spring Summer 2024

HOUSING

Spring Lake Affordable Living Groundbreaking!

Construction on the new Samaritas Affordable Living community in Spring Lake began earlier this year. The $16.4M project on East Savidge Street will feature
53 beautiful new apartments for people of all ages.

Nearly 50 people attended the groundbreaking ceremony at Spring Lake Presbyterian Church on East Savidge Street. The event featured remarks by Pastor
Dan Anderson of Spring Lake Presbyterian who provided the benediction, Dave Morin, Samaritas Interim CEO, Mark Powers, Spring Lake Village
President, Chad Benson, MSHDA Rental Director, and Brittney Drake of the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians organization.

Samaritas Wins Grants for Grand Rapids and Mt. Pleasant Housing Renovations

Samaritas and Mercantile Bank have joined forces again for the Samaritas renovation of Allen Manor,
an Affordable Housing community in Grand Rapids serving persons 62+. As a member bank, Mercantile
helped by submitting Samaritas’ $600,000 Affordable Housing Program (AHP) grant application to the
Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis (FHLBank Indianapolis) and donating $10,000 to support
this new venture. This marks the third AHP collaboration between the two organizations. Awarded at
the end of 2023, the grant will support Allen Manor renovations including modernizing kitchens,
bathrooms, flooring, common areas, and expanding outdoor gathering spaces. Pinnacle Construction
will oversee the project this summer, with additional bridge lending support from Mercantile Bank and
a permanent mortgage from the Kent County Affordable Housing Revolving Loan Fund.
In a separate successful award, Samaritas partnered with Isabella Bank, a FHLBank Indianapolis
member, on Isabella Bank’s first AHP grant project renovating the Affordable Living Immanuel Village
property in Mt. Pleasant which serves persons 62+. In addition to applying for and securing a $600,000
grant from FHLBank Indianapolis, Isabella Bank is offering bridge financing for the construction phase,
contributed an additional $10,000 towards the renovations, and is offering a permanent mortgage to
complete the $935,000 project at Immanuel Village. Also performed by Pinnacle Construction, this
project modernizes resident units throughout the building and provides common areas upgrades.

New Garden Beds for Montague
Affordable Communities

Two of Samaritas’ affordable housing communities in West Michigan are being
spruced up, thanks partly to funding made possible by Enterprise Community
Partners, The Edward N. & Della L. Thome Memorial Foundation, and Bank of America.

Samaritas community managers are building raised garden beds in partnership with
the local Future Farmers of America and National Honor Society chapters from
local high schools.
This initiative is important in promoting community engagement and providing an
opportunity for us to work together to create opportunities for well-being and
mindfulness for our residents and partners. Gardening has been shown to have
numerous physical and mental health benefits, including reducing stress, improving
mood, and promoting physical activity. The involvement of local youth organizations in
this project help foster a sense of community and provide opportunities for young
people to learn about gardening, healthy eating, and sustainable living, and how they
can make a difference in the lives of their neighbors at Samaritas.

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