Page 18 - March-2023-FOCUS
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SPECIAL SECTION: HOUSING IN GREATER LANSING


        Affordable Housing Shortage Squeezes Lansing Area Families



             he housing shortage combined                       says one of the problems is a lack of subsidized housing in
             with rising inflation is putting                   the area. Fleming says there is an acute need in the city of
        Tthe squeeze on low-and-middle                          Lansing for 3, 4 and 5- bedroom units. LHC has a wait list for
        income families. Rents have been                        the Section 8 HUD program of 10-11 months.
        climbing and wages are not keeping
        up and many families are being forced                  “The last two times we opened the list we had 3,400
        to spend more than 30 percent of their                  applications within 7 days,” said Fleming.
        income on rent and utilities. The lack of
        affordable housing is disproportionately                LHC uses a lottery system to narrow the list down to 600-700
        impacting minority and underserved   McDaniel           applicants. After going through a required process to identify
        populations.                                            qualified families to receive the subsidy, LHC will issue a
                                                                voucher. However, each family must then find a housing unit
        Mark McDaniel is CEO of Cinnaire                        that meets their needs. LHC gives each family 90 days plus a
        Corporation, a Lansing-based                            90-day extension to locate qualified housing.
        community development organization
        that lends funds and manages                           “We are finding more and more that families that need that
        affordable housing projects throughout                  3,4 or 5 bedroom unit bringing the voucher back to us and
        the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic. Locally,                  saying ’we just can’t find a unit,” said Fleming. “You get the
        Cinnaire acquired the former School                     golden ticket only to go out into the market to find out the
        for the Blind Site near Old Town in                     golden ticket isn’t worth anything.”
        Lansing, and working with an Indiana   Van Fossen
        developer built affordable housing                      The National Low Income Housing Coalition estimates the
        units known as Walnut Park, as well                     shortfall of rental units to low-income families in Michigan at
        as senior citizen units. Adjacent land                  more than 200,000. Contributing to that shortfall is the fact
        is development ready and McDaniel                       that wages have not kept pace with rising costs. Van Fossen
        hopes to build townhouses there once                    also points to a need for more funding options from both the
        economic conditions are more favorable.                 public and private sector, adjustments in local zoning laws to
        McDaniel says the affordable housing                    enable communities to better plan for future housing needs
        crisis has evolved over a number of years,              and more landlords willing to participate in various housing
        resulting from failed policies at the                   assistance programs.
        federal state and local level, which led to
        efforts to keep affordable housing out   Fleming        The Capital Area Housing Partnership has calculated the
        of communities, primarily due to anti-low income and often   region needs at least 20,000 more housing units to meet
        racial bias.                                            the region’s needs. Van Fossen says to meet that need will
                                                                require leadership from elected officials and freeing up
        “We’re now playing catch-up,” said McDaniel. “The working   more funds from HUD’s Community Development Block
        poor making 12-18 dollars an hour have no place to live   Grant program, expanding the federal low-income housing
        because of historic policies that have not generated a supply   tax credit and increased dollars from the National Housing
        of housing to serve those people needs.”                Trust Fund.

        Rawley Van Fossen, Executive Director of the Capital Area   “We need our elected leaders and the private sector to
        Housing Partnership, says there are more people searching   encourage and advocate that we fund those programs even
        for home ownership or rentals than there are available units.   more than we already do,” said Van Fossen.
        Additionally, many people are living in sub-standard housing
        and unable to move. The lack of supply plus skyrocketing   Officials at the state level have moved the housing crisis
        costs has the market out of balance.                    up on the priority list in the past couple of years. In 2021,
                                                                LRCC joined with 20 statewide organizations to support the
        “It costs us more to build a house in the city of Lansing than   Housing Michigan Coalition, which has already been able to
        it will ever be appraised for,” said Van Fossen. “It is a losing   push four pieces of legislation into law.
        model and you are not likely to get a for-profit builder to
        build a home in the city because the numbers don’t work.”  In September 2022, Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed
                                                                an executive order establishing the Statewide Housing
        The Lansing Housing Commission (LHC) is a Public Housing   Partnership within the Michigan State Housing Development
        Agency that provides rental housing units and rental    Authority (MSHDA). The partnership will develop a strategy
        assistance to families in ten communities in the Greater   to implement Michigan’s Statewide Housing Plan. The
        Lansing region. LHC Executive Director Doug Fleming     Michigan Economic Development Corporation announced

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