Michigan Green Communities program offsets green building costs

Michigan Green Communities, a partnership between Enterprise, MSHDA and the Great Lakes Capital Fund offers developers up to $100,000 per project for the development of affordable housing that meets the program’s standards for energy-efficiency and sustainability.

Green Communities homes must meet Energy Star standards as well as additional requirements such as the use of water conservation equipment and non-toxic paints and wood products. Ed Bobinchak, assistant chief underwriter for Great Lakes Capital Fund explains that the toughest requirement to meet is likely the one that calls for "an air filtration rate of no more that .25 per hour, which means that the air in the home would not turn over more than once every four hours. That’s built really tight."

Enterprise’s national program provides $1,000 per housing unit up to $50,000 per project, but the partnership of MSHDA and Great Lakes doubles that. To be eligible for the funding, for-sale homes must be made available to buyers at 80% of the area’s median income (AMI) and rental units to families at 60% of the AMI.

Green Communities has funded three projects, two in Detroit and one outside of Grand Rapids. The initial commitment is for a total of $1 million, but Bobinchak believes the partners will re-up their funding if the program proves successful. He says, "We are committed to affordable housing, and the easiest way to make housing affordable is to lower utility rates."  

For more information about the program, visit Michigan Green Communities  or contact Bobinchak at ebobinchak@capfund.net.


Source: Ed Bobinchak, Great Lakes Capital Fund

Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh