Missing Middle Housing Program supports riverfront rental homes in REO Town neighborhood

LANSING – Today the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) and Let’s Grow Michigan hosted a celebration of the REO Gateway development in Lansing. MSHDA CEO & Executive Director Amy Hovey and Michigan’s Chief Growth Officer Hilary Doe were joined by Ingham County Treasurer Alan Fox, Lansing Mayor Andy Schor, and the project’s developers for a press conference and tour this morning.

The Missing Middle Housing Program contributed $1.68 million to the project’s fourth building. This phase of the REO Gateway project represents a total investment of $4.39 million. There will be 24 new rental homes in the fourth building, and there are 72 new rental homes in the completed three buildings which are now leasing. State and local officials toured a finished new unit and celebrated the groundbreaking of the fourth building.

“Good quality affordable homes like the ones at REO Gateway are foundational to success in school, at work, and in life,” said Amy Hovey, MSHDA CEO & Executive Director. “We are moving quickly with the Missing Middle program to align new housing investments with the state’s economic development strategy, making sure that we have quality housing options for all the new jobs we’re creating so that more of our neighbors can make it in Michigan.”

“Housing challenges aren’t unique to Michigan, but we know that the availability of affordable housing is a critical part of the decision when folks are choosing where to put down roots,” said Hilary Doe, Chief Growth Officer for the State of Michigan. “My team and our Let’s Grow Michigan campaign is excited to support transformational projects like this one that build stronger, more vibrant communities, and ultimately make Michigan an even better place to call home.”

Missing Middle Housing Program funds were appropriated by the state legislature and awarded by MSHDA, and the source of this funding was the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), signed by President Biden in March 2021 to provide direct relief and economic stimulus to the American economy while addressing the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic crisis.

In March 2022, Gov. Whitmer signed the Building Michigan Together Plan, making bold, bipartisan investments of one-time resources into long-term state infrastructure to improve the lives of Michiganders well into the future. The plan initially included $50 million for the Missing Middle Housing Program, which eventually was increased to a total of $110 million, all of which has been committed to providing gap funding to housing projects all over Michigan.

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