Hope Housing development finishes work in Benton Harbor

A project that has been in the works since 2004 and has brought the development of 220 single-family homes or townhouses to Benton Harbor has wrapped up.

Officials recently celebrated the construction of 36 units of townhomes, the final phase of the Hope VI project. The townhomes were part of the fourth phase of the project. Work in the final phase started in 2009 with 16 units. A second group of 36 was finished this summer.

In 2004, 48 single family rental units known as Brunson Hill were developed by Star Development. Those were followed by the Infill Housing Initiative, 70 single-family homes, developed through the partnership of Cornerstone Alliance and Star Development. Those were finished in 2007. Harbor Habitat for Humanity developed 50 homes, including 25 that were built through the Jimmy Carter Work Project in 2005. In the fourth phase, the Whitfield 1 complex was demolished and the land redeveloped so 52 new apartments could go up on the existing site.

As part of  the HOPE VI program, more than $15 million of HUD funding went to demolish public housing and replace it with housing for more than 200 families. An additional $16 million became made available through the State of Michigan as the project progressed. In the final phase of the project, Hope VI funds and low income housing tax credits were used.

Benton Harbor was selected from a pool of 56 applications from public housing authorities HUD received to get the initial 2003 funding, administered by the Benton Harbor Housing Commission. One of the requirements of HOPE VI is that public and private investment in social and life skill improvements equal the investment in the new housing. The project came together through the collaboration of more than 20 not-for-profit agencies that also offered services within the community toward the families who will receive the housing.

Writer: Kathy Jennings
Source: Jamie Nilson-Balkin, Cornerstone Alliance