Four County Community Foundation

Affordable Housing 

To better understand current challenges in the housing market, Four County Community Foundation (4CCF) stepped into the role of home builder. 4CCF partnered with the Michigan State Housing Development Authority on their MSHDA MOD initiative in 2021 and, in 2023, began building a three-bedroom, two-bathroom home in Imlay City.

Helping make the project possible was Kevin Collins, chief designer and co-owner of Oasis Homes, an Almont-based business. 4CCF Executive Director Kathy Dickens said Kevin acted as the “genie behind the scenes,” volunteering his time and know how to help guide the project from start to finish.

Kevin said he was motivated to help 4CCF with the MOD house project because he sensed that Kathy and Four County Community Foundation had a real desire to explore affordable housing options.

After the keys were handed over to the new owner in March 2024, Kathy and Kevin sat down to reflect on what they learned from the project.

The MSHDA MOD project sought to expand local housing options for the middle-class workforce by utilizing modular products. Both Kathy and Kevin said using a modular design did have some advantages but it’s just one of many options for anyone looking to build a lower cost, energy efficient home.

Finding an affordable piece of property to create housing is often as challenging as creating the housing itself, both concurred.

Kevin said municipalities could help alleviate that problem by taking a second look at unused commercial space or property that was returned to the city or county due to unpaid taxes. Marketing tax sale properties to families who want to build would be one place to start, he added.

Another option would be to take that type of land, split them up into parcels and sell with certain stipulations that encourage home building, Kevin said, like tax breaks.

Both agree that municipalities could use more support to be ready for housing development. Currently, MSHDA is offering a Housing Readiness Incentive Grant Program that provides funding to government agencies for adoption of land use policies, master plan updates, zoning text amendments, and similar actions that encourage increasied housing supply and affordability.

More information about the Housing Readiness Incentive Grant program can be found at https://www.michigan.gov/mshda/neighborhoods/housing-readiness-incentive-grant-program.

Going forward, 4CCF is open to exploring other housing-related projects and welcomes input from community leaders and residents.

Reach out to Kathy Dickens at kdickens@4ccf.org or (810) 444-8852.