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Workforce Housing Built on Site of Former Training School
Recognizing ingenuity in the development, construction and marketing of affordable workforce housing, NAHB honored five communities with its Innovation in Workforce Housing Awards at the International Builders’ Show in Orlando, Fla. in January. In an effort to bring attention to outstanding examples of workforce housing, Nation’s Building News is showcasing the winners of the award in a series of articles. The third development in the series is East Village in Lansing, Mich.
Applications for the 2006 awards are available and the deadline is Oct. 27. For the award guidelines and an entry form, click here.
 Being developed by Abbey Homes in conjunction with Burton Katzman, East Village is a redevelopment project on a 25-acre site that had sat vacant for three decades where there was once a boys’ training school.
The $28 million project was financed through private investment and $2.1 million in brownfield redevelopment funds coming from tax increments financing (TIF) and brownfield revenue bonds issued by the Lansing Brownfields Redevelopment Authority.
When completed, the community will consist of:
- 72 single-level attached condominiums starting from the $130,000's
- 72 town homes starting from the $150,000's
- And 33 detached condominiums starting from the $190,000's
The community is bordered on the south side by Sparrow Hospital, on the west side by Lansing Catholic Central High School and on the east by Eastern High School. Michigan State University is just a short drive away, as well as Cooley Law School.
“We are very pleased that we could provide affordable housing and create a community that fits perfectly within the existing neighborhood,” said Scott Auvenshine, chief operating officer of Abbey Homes. “East Village is the largest new housing development in Lansing in the last 30 years, but it blends very well with the existing architecture of the surrounding area.”
“We could not have done this without the help and support of the City of Lansing,” Auvenshine said. Looking to redevelop the site, the city has been an active partner in the workforce housing development.
“I am very pleased to recognize this year’s award winners,” said Bobby Lunceford, who won a workforce housing award a year ago for his work with Cobb Housing Inc. in Atlanta. “I know from first-hand experience the challenges of providing housing for America’s hard-working men and women.”
“Land costs are high, the regulatory hurdles are significant and the time to market can be long and arduous,” he added. “But this is important work. We’ve got to meet the housing needs of our police officers, our teachers, firefighters, nurses and the millions of people across the country in the retail and service industries.”
For more information, e-mail Blake Smith at NAHB, or call him at 800-368-5242 x8583.
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