Work is under way on a $4.25 million residential development project in Benton Harbor known as Harbor Town.
Officials from the City of Benton Harbor, the
Michigan State Housing Development Authority and Cornerstone Alliance gathered Aug. 15 for groundbreaking for the subdivision located on Market St. between Eighth St. and Twelfth St.
"I’ve talked to some of the new owners and they are ecstatic to be moving into this development," says Benton Harbor Mayor James Hightower. Three homes already have been built.
The project funded in part through American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is intended to stabilize communities where foreclosure and abandonment of homes has taken a toll. Michele Wildman of MSHDA says the state competed for the funds that are going to the project and Benton Harbor is one of 12 communities to receive them.
"This is part of a longer term effort to revitalize the community," Wildman says. "Using the tools and resources of Benton Harbor and the Landbank of Berrien County this development is not only improving the quality of life in Benton Harbor but providing affordable housing."
"This project helps provide new housing at a real market rate at a value that is a reasonably priced," says Mayor Hightower. "These homes will replace homes that have been taken down for blight or which were abandoned. This will be new housing stock for the community. Throughout the community we have been eliminating blight and this will provide affordable housing."
Up to 12 homes are to be built and sold within a year with a possibility that five more will go up if funding is available.
The homes, which come in five different styles, will have windows, insulation, heating and cooling systems designed for energy efficiency and each will have from two to four bedrooms.
The homes come in a range of sizes: 1,536 square feet, 1,823 square feet, 1,740 square feet, 1,615 square feet, 1,648 square feet and 1,808 square feet. They will sell for about $125,000 to
qualified homebuyers.
"This is just the beginning," Hightower says. "This is a wonderful opportunity for the city of Benton Harbor. We are in the process of rebuilding our community and this is a welcome addition to that."
Writer: Kathy Jennings, Second Wave Media
Source: James Hightower, City of Benton Harbor; Michele Wildman, MSHDA
Enjoy this story?
Sign up for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.