FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: The Handbuilt City is thrilled to announce that we recently finalized the terms of two preliminary funding commitments to support the development of our innovative housing development platform utilizing modular construction. Last Tuesday evening, we finalized two letters of intent from two individual private donors, pledging a total of $50,000 towards a feasibility study aimed at assessing the market potential of industrialized and modular construction in Michigan. This initiative is geared towards accelerating the development of affordable housing in the region, and will assess industrial capacity as well as the The feasibility study’s total cost is expected to range from $200-300,000, depending on scope. We anticipate further updates in the coming weeks as we secure additional grant funding to support this critical endeavor, which will make Michigan communities more sustainable and housing more attainable.
Some specific components of the study are highlighted below:
Assessing industrial capacity for modular construction in Michigan. Michigan has a well-developed industrial base, ranging from historical industries like lumber production and mining to advanced manufacturing. While much of this capacity is dedicated to the automotive sector, there are plenty of overlaps between the demands of automotive manufacturing and industrialized construction, including the precision assembly of large, heavy, and complex components on an assembly line. We can utilize existing industrial capacity while diversifying the state’s manufacturing base to solve the housing crisis in Michigan communities.
Partnering with cities and towns to accelerate the pace of affordable housing development. Cities all need housing that people can actually afford, whether we’re talking about San Francisco, Detroit, Escanaba, or wherever– the problem is not unique to huge cities nor to small towns. The norm to pay 40, 50, 60, or 70% of one’s income to housing costs is completely unsustainable, and it’s one that is driven by a combination of factors including restrictive land use and zoning policy, parking policy, the corporatization of entire asset classes of housing, and more. We can work with cities to address these issues in a way that is sustainable, equitable, and functional from a standpoint of municipal funding and regulation.
Identifying shovel-ready sites across the state. Research is a lot of fun, but it’s not sufficient on its own to move the needle forward on anything unless it’s paired with actual implementation. This means that a key goal is to facilitate actual real estate development through partnerships with local developers, and this must focus on infill development of good quality housing products. While Michigan communities have over the past 40+ years focused on building out rather than up, this growth paradigm has correlated to economic stagnation in the state as infrastructure costs balloon and the cost of transportation increases without a concomitant increase in spending on things like public transit. We will take the approach that there is no one-size-fits-all typology for development, but we will emphasize infill development rather than greenfield development whenever possible, prioritizing missing middle housing.
We have a lot of work to do, but we’re excited about this first step and hope to have more updates soon. In the meantime, we hope you will volunteer for the steering committee as we assemble it. The form can be found here. Contact information is below.
Contact Information
E-mail: nathaniel@handbuiltcity.org
Tel.: 717-715-7783