State approves $12M in funding for affordable housing in Holland
HOLLAND, Mich. (WOOD) — An affordable housing project near the lakeshore is getting ready to take a big step forward.
The Kollen Park Drive project has been in the works for years, and funding recently awarded from the state is paving the way to start construction.
“We’re very excited to be part of the team that has put together this project,” said Jeremy DeRoo, CEO of Grand Rapids-based nonprofit Dwelling Place.
DeRoo said the nonprofit was first approached by Hope Church, which wanted to find a way to address housing challenges in the Holland community.
“That’s often how this works is we connect with people who are passionate about their community, that see affordable housing challenges in front of (their) face and ask the question, ‘What can we do about this?’ And Dwelling Place tries to come alongside them and find solutions to those challenges,” DeRoo explained.
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The Kollen Park Drive project is a partnership between Dwelling Place, Community Action House, Hope Church and the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians.
The project will include the construction of 52 one and two-bedroom apartment units at a total development cost of about $16 million. The state recently approved nearly $12 million in low-income housing tax credits, which will fund approximately 90% of the project.
The first phase of construction is expected to start in early 2025 and will establish approximately 32 one-bedroom and six two-bedroom apartments at 345 W 14th St., the former site of Community Action House. There will be 41 parking spaces for the 38 units.
The second development will feature approximately 14 one-bedroom apartments and 15 parking spaces constructed on property donated by Hope Church at 100 W 10th St.
Further down the road, phase two, which is not included in the funding from the state, will include the construction of five three-bedroom townhomes located one block south of the primary phase one apartment complex off of Kollen Park Dr. between W 14th and 15th streets. These also have the potential to serve as affordable housing.
The units are designed for incomes at or below 60% of the area median income.
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“It’s designed to be affordable to working-class families,” DeRoo explained. “Some of them will be more deeply targeted so that people that are below 30% of area median income can qualify to live there as well.”
For the apartments, this means rent will start at approximately $400 and go up from there. Some of the units will be set aside for tribal members, people with disabilities and individuals or families with tenant-based vouchers.
“There (are) so many people that have a struggle to find housing right now, but when we can work with communities that have been historically marginalized, have been facing these struggles for years and years and really find significant solutions that start to solve their challenges,” DeRoo said. “It’s really rewarding to be involved in that type of work.”
The first tenants are expected to be able to move in sometime in early 2026, a year after construction starts. DeRoo said Dwelling Place and its community partners will begin advertising once applications are open and units will be filled on a first-come-first-serve basis.
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