See what Sleeping Bear Gateways Council has been up to recently.
Why Is Sleeping Bear Gateways Council Focused on Workforce Housing?
Because there is a critical workforce housing shortage in Leelanau and Benzie Counties! Closing the gap in workforce housing is critical in preserving the services we have come to rely upon, which may affect the safety and the charm and character of towns and villages where we live.
An Innovative Workforce Housing Solution
The Glen Lake Community Schools (GLCS) have been given a rare opportunity to facilitate the development of both rental and homeownership opportunities for a diverse group of workforce families and households, such as teachers, firefighters, law enforcement, road commission, and other public sector employees.
Important Update: Glen Lake Community Schools’ Housing Initiative Presentation
In the summer of 2023, SBGC was approached by the school district Superintendent and a board member requesting our assistance in determining if the school property could be used for affordable housing. Here, you can see the presentation and learn more about this housing initiative.
HomeStretch: Making a Difference in NW Lower Michigan
Homestretch is the largest nonprofit affordable housing developer in Northern Michigan, which provides new, decent, and affordable housing for persons and families of low to moderate income. Learn about the difference their making in our gateway communities.
With a steadily growing influx of seasonal visitors to the area, a coordinated team met in mid-September to discuss a proposal for the 180 acres of forest school property to be made available for use in developing a community to include attainable and affordable housing.
Our gateway communities are real communities with schools, libraries, and senior services. A lack of affordable housing creates a variety of issues for business owners, municipalities, and local governments. They need year-round residents to staff stores and support local services.
It’s a story heard across the country, from Colorado ski towns to Key West to the Sleeping Bear Dunes region in northern Michigan. Not only do tourist communities need hospitality workers and entrepreneurs, but they need young families and essential workers to support the tax base, the schools, and public services.
Workforce Housing Initiative Final Report
With funding provided by the USDA, SBGC studied the lack of affordable housing in Leelanau and Benzie Counties with the hope of mitigating this challenge. The result of this project demonstrated the high feasibility of several options.
In collaboration with the Harvard Graduate School of Design Laboratory for Values in the Built Environment, SBGC studied the issue of workforce housing in our gateway communities. The need for low-to-moderate housing is urgent. Learn more about their findings in this summary.
The SBGC contracted with Mansfield Consultants to develop conceptual plans for a 40-acre parcel to illustrate development possibilities on a greenfield site in Empire Township. While there was an example parcel used for this exercise, these could be adapted to other opportunities throughout the region.
The SBGC set up a web-based portal for both employers needing rentals for employees and local owners who had space to offer. This program ran for two years, and the hope is to expand this regionally (pending funding). Housing North is working with the SBGC and others to explore ways to continue the Housing Exchange.
USDA Grant Funding
The SBGC received several grants to fund efforts under its Workforce Housing Initiative to address shortage of seasonal workforce housing in the Gateway Communities.
School Forests Project
The SBGC partnered with various government offices to put forth amendments to the Municipal Forest Act to allow certain forest lands to be used for affordable housing projects.
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