MUSKEGON HEIGHTS, MI - A new urban housing development expected to yield up to 20 homes in the $80,000-$90,000 range is planned for a vacant school site in Muskegon Heights.
The 2.5-acre site of the former Glendale school, 3001 Jefferson St. in Muskegon Heights, will soon be cleared in preparation for a $2 million development of up to 20 single-family homes.
The redevelopment of Glendale is the first of a three-phase project that will also develop housing at the the former Lindbergh School at Barney and Hoyt streets, and the former Dr. Martin Luther King School, at East Barney and Dyston streets.
The goal is to establish at least 100 new housing units between the three sites.
On a scale of 0-10, Muskegon Heights City Manager Jake Eckholm rates his excitement for the project at a 10.
The Glendale portion will reintegrate an underutilized block into the surrounding neighborhood with owner-occupied housing in a price range that's affordable to city residents, he said.
"It checks all the boxes for us," Eckholm said.
It's also the first major single-family housing development in the city since before the Great Recession, he said.
The former Glendale school property is owned by the Michigan Land Bank Fast Track Authority, which is leading the development effort in partnership with the city. The land bank also owns the former Lindbergh school parcel.
Lindbergh and MLK, both larger than Glendale, could include multi-unit housing, senior housing and single-family homes, Eckholm said.
MLK is owned by the city but will be sold to the land bank for $53,000 to allow for a uniform redevelopment process, he said.
First on the to-do list is demolition of the old Glendale school before the calendar turns to 2019, said Josh Burgett, director of the Michigan Land Bank.
While demolishing blighted buildings is commonplace for the state land bank, acting as a developer is not - but this project is more "proactive," Burgett said.
"We really facilitate development, but in this case, we're committed to becoming a developer if we have to," he said. "If we're the developer, we're not trying to make a profit."
A request for proposals for the Glendale site will go out this winter with hopes of finding a developer that can keep within the $80,000-$90,000 price point per home and begin construction during spring 2019.
The city and land bank have been working together for about a year to come up with a viable plan, Burgett said. The Muskegon Heights City Council endorsed the development this week.
"Affordability is important for the community - no one wants to build something that can't be sold," Burgett said.
Helping keep the home prices down are the facts that the land bank already owns the Glendale property, water and sewer infrastructure is in place and there's an option to build modular homes, Burgett said. If a private developer is hired, the land bank would pass the parcel to the developer at no cost.
Eckholm said he expects the up to 20 homes could have three bedrooms, two bathrooms and measure 1,100 to 1,400 square feet on 50-by-100-foot lots. The expectation is that all 20 would be sold before they're built as the result of "aggressive" marketing, he said.
Timelines for Lindbergh and MLK are further out, with requests for proposals planned to go out during winter 2019.
Another former Muskegon Heights school was recently opened as affordable apartments and supportive housing for the homeless. The former Theodore Roosevelt Elementary School, 525 W. Summit Ave., was shuttered in 2010. It was purchased by Grand Rapids-based Dwelling Place in 2016 and reopened this month as Roosevelt Apartments.