CADILLAC — The City of Cadillac is focusing on more affordable housing.
A public hearing and vote are set for Friday on a brownfield development that would bring 9 duplexes to the 300 block of Kentucky Avenue in Cadillac.
The Copper Trail Duplex Brownfield Development is the latest in a string of housing developments that have been proposed in Cadillac, but the city manager, Marcus Peccia said much more is needed in the area.
“Housing continues to be a significant issue in our city and in our region. If you do the math, we’re still well under saturated or well below meeting that demand,” said Peccia.
“We need more of everything. And so, I can say that duplexes especially is a housing product that we do not have very many of at all, said Peccia.
Peccia said Cadillac is lacking in everything from apartments, single family homes, townhomes, and duplexes.
He said being part of a brownfield development this will be able to provide homes for 18 families at an affordable rate.
“This program is designed to make sure that people are not higher than 120% of the average median income at the county in order to qualify to be able to get a unit. It’s designed to help people get in that are not necessarily, you know, at the top of the pay scale,” said Peccia.
Peccia said he understands that affordable means something different for everyone but according to the state, there are set guidelines.
“I can’t sit here and say that that number may or may not be affordable because it’s all relative to, you know, what your income is. You know, average is just that. That’s the average. There’s 50% of people that are making less than that, and there’s 50% of people that are making, you know, more than that. And it’s just a cap,” said Peccia.
The public hearing is set for 4 pm.
Peccia said the development is expected to be approved.
“There were several other iterations of this project that were not duplexes, that were multifamily apartment buildings that did receive some significant opposition. The developer worked with the neighboring community and on his own, you know, this has nothing to do with the city. And basically, went back to the drawing board, rethought the project and is putting something in that that seems to be generally acceptable,” said Peccia.
He said this is good for Cadillac.
“This is a different product. It’s a duplex. They’re going to be for sale, and it’ll provide a whole new opportunity for people to come in and set roots down,” said Peccia.
Peccia said despite all the new developments being talked about from the Cadillac Lofts, The Lakelynn Apartments, The Cooley School Redevelopment, etc., there’s still a lot of need for housing in Cadillac.
“A study was done by the Regional Planning Authority Networks Northwest that talked about, I want to say 250 units around there. New housing was needed every year for like the next decade just to catch up and that was that was a decade ago,” said Peccia.
He said the demand just continues to outpace the construction of housing.
“While it might feel like we’ve made a significant impact, it’s really just been a drop in the bucket going back now, probably close to ten years,” said Peccia.