$22.5M Riverview 220 would be first mixed-use, 'affordable' family building for downtown

LANSING — The Lansing Housing Commission and Ingham County Land Bank celebrated this past week pivotal points in a pair of affordable housing projects.

The housing commission announced a $1.5 million tax credit for Riverview 220, a $22.5 million, 63-unit project planned for the south side of East Kalamazoo Street, between South Grand Avenue and Cherry Street, that both commission and city officials said would be the first mixed-use, affordable family development in the capital city's downtown.

There are several residential developments downtown with market rate housing and retail space, but they don't fall in the affordable category, Doug Fleming, the commission's executive director, told the State Journal.

"Everyone deserves safe, clean and affordable housing,” he said in a statement announcing the tax credit. “We have invested to expand and improve affordable housing options throughout the region. These tax credits will continue our mission as the leader in affordable housing throughout the capital region.”

Construction for Riverview 220 is slated to start in 2024 with leasing starting in 2026. The bottom floor of the five-story building is expected to be retail and commercial space.

Fleming said two- and three-bedroom apartments would be tagged with rents of between 40% and 80% of the area's median income. That breaks down to between $844 and $1,688 for a two-bedroom unit, according to state figures for Ingham County.

He said the project used as much of the grant money as possible for affordable housing, 56 units, but a funding formula − involving square footage, grant money and the number of units − meant there weren't enough grant dollars to designate the whole building as affordable housing.

"We maxed out on the number of affordable units and the other seven are extra on top of that. That's why they're not all affordable, because tax credits would not allow us to do that," Fleming said.

Fleming made his announcement the day after a groundbreaking ceremony happened for the Pointe West Condos, another project billed as affordable housing in the 1200 block of West Saginaw Street, across from Sparrow Hospital's St. Lawrence campus.

Backed by a $500,000 grant, the development will involve five 1,150-square-foot units fitted with solar panels. The grant is a partnership with the city of Lansing and Michigan Economic Development Corporation’s Revitalization and Placemaking Program. The Ingham County Housing Trust Fund is providing matching funds.

“The development will provide access to affordable, high-density housing along one of Lansing’s busiest corridors connecting to the downtown district, while removing blighted and vacant properties,” according to a statement from the Ingham County Land Bank.

The Riverview 220 project was one of 10 in the state that received a combined $13 million in federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits recently announced by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the Michigan State Housing Development Authority. The projects are expected to help build or rehabilitate 500 future homes in the state.

Fleming said the housing commission is working on three or four new projects to seek the next round of competitive grants in December, which could lead to more affordable housing in the region.

The developments are the latest proposed for downtown Lansing.

Earlier this month, the Gentilozzi family and partners announced plans for 450 new housing units downtown in the next two years under a $200 million proposal funded in part by the record amount of one-time grants in this year's state budget and millions in proposed tax credits.

MORE: 8 housing developments that are already changing downtown Lansing

Three projects by the longtime Lansing developers, in partnership with southeast Michigan investors, would create the tallest building in downtown Lansing directly north of the Riverview 220 project, on the north side of the Grand Tower at 235 S. Grand Ave. owned by the state of Michigan on the banks of the Grand River. A second project would build a 1-acre parking deck that would extend across Grand Avenue and connect to the iconic Atrium Building at 215 S. Washington Square. A third project would develop the Capitol Tower at Ottawa and Walnut streets just northwest of the Capitol that is now several lots currently containing vacant homes.

About 600 residential units have been added downtown in the last two years as developers and Lansing officials believe new housing downtown will help revitalize a business district battered by the pandemic.

Contact Mike Ellis at mellis@lsj.com or 517-267-0415

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: $22.5M Riverview 220 to be first mixed-use, 'affordable' family building in downtown