Kalamazoo to build pre-approved cottages
Kalamazoo has allocated $480,000 to build three cottages from its catalog of pre-approved plans. The Michigan city will build the 864 sq. ft. single houses on infill land owned by the Kalamazoo County Land Bank. Construction is expected to begin in May and the houses will be sold to households earning 100 percent or less of the area median income.
“The money comes from the city’s American Rescue Plan Act federal stimulus funding, which must be allocated by the end of 2024,” according to a report on mlive.com.
Public Square reported in October that pre-approved plans are part of the city’s effort to promote affordable housing through regulatory reform, missing middle housing types, and financial support and incentives.
Pre-approved plans are designed to make entitlement quicker, more predictable, and less costly. Kalamazoo worked with architects Jennifer Griffin of J. Griffin Design and Jennifer Settle of Opticos Design on plans based on the architecture of traditional city neighborhoods. The designers created plans for eight different types of housing designed to meet all local codes and fit on common-width city lots.
However, implementing this system presents hurdles, including builders' lack of familiarity with traditional building types, and some infill neighborhoods have not seen new housing for decades. Use of the American Rescue Plan funding is part of the city’s attempt to build momentum for the program.
