Reporters question Gov. Gretchen Whitmer at the Northern Michigan Policy Conference on Jan. 31. (Photo: Izzy Ross/IPR News)
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A new state matching fund aims to expand the availability of worker housing, as needs continue to outpace supply in many Michigan communities.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced the Employer-Assisted Housing Fund at the Northern Michigan Policy Conference in Acme on Friday morning.
“Michigan’s ratio of new housing units built to new jobs created is 1-to-14. Let that sink in for a minute,” Whitmer said in a speech to conference attendees. “It’s more than double the national average. In other words, we’re creating jobs a lot faster than we’re building housing.”
Whitmer named housing efforts in places like Blair Township, Traverse City, Elk Rapids, Watersmeet and Evart as proof of growth. But she acknowledged that the Michigan Housing Development Authority still estimates the need for an additional 141,000 housing units in the state.
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The $10 million matching fund, administered through the housing authority and supported by this year’s state budget appropriations, aims to leverage the state’s job growth to boost housing, as well.
“If we want people to move to communities for work, they need affordable places to call home. The Employer-Assisted Housing Fund tackles this challenge head on,” she said.
Housing is a top concern for businesses in the region, said Nikki Devitt, president and CEO of the Petoskey Chamber of Commerce and chair of the Northern Michigan Chamber Alliance, which hosted the conference. During a panel discussion she said she hears about those struggles through her work with the Chamber Alliance, which has 7,000 members.
“The number one phone call we get, the number one crisis we hear is, ‘I can’t hire because I can’t house. And if there was a way for me to do it better, I would,’” she said.
The fund is meant to encourage collaboration between local governments, employers, developers and the state’s housing development authority.
MSHDA Director Amy Hovey said during that same panel that the fund is an example of promoting public-private partnerships — a theme throughout the event. The fund can be used for everything from construction projects to help with down payments.
“Every region is different. The needs vary. This fund is very prescriptive,” she said. “We want to make it more flexible so we can make government more efficient.”
The state opens applications on Feb. 24 and will review them on a first-come, first-served basis.