Mixed-Use Development Opens in Downtown Mount Pleasant, Michigan

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Mixed-Use Development Opens in Downtown Mount Pleasant, Michigan

 

Opened in 2022, Broadway Lofts is a mixed-use, mixed-income development in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, a small city with a population of approximately 20,000 near the center of the state. Broadway Lofts consists of 48 apartments, some of which are income restricted, and a cooperatively owned grocery store that serves the community. This development, a result of the city’s downtown revitalization efforts, received a Jack Kemp Excellence in Affordable and Workforce Housing Award in 2023.

Reenvisioning Downtown Mount Pleasant

Although anchored by Central Michigan University and a downtown district, Mount Pleasant is a relatively quiet city predominantly composed of single-family homes. Throughout the 2000s, however, the city has been promoting downtown development. As early as 2003, during a city visioning fair, many Mount Pleasant residents expressed a preference for making the city's downtown more "user friendly," with more businesses, events, and entertainment options. These goals were incorporated in the city's 2006 master plan, which identified steps for creating a livable and walkable downtown.

Developing Broadway Lofts

Between 2012 and 2018, Mount Pleasant's Economic Development Corporation (EDC) received 12 redevelopment proposals for a site next to the former Borden Creamery building, which had been converted to the new city hall in 2005. In 2018, the EDC selected Michigan Community Capital (MCC), a nonprofit developer, to build a mixed-use development on the site in accordance with the city's vision and sold the site to MCC for the heavily discounted price of $65,000.

The developer also worked with GreenTree Co-op Market, a local, cooperatively owned grocery store, or food Co-op, to relocate the store to the new development in an area that had been a food desert. In 2020, MCC began constructing the mixed-use development now known as Broadway Lofts on this site. Following delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the mixed-income apartments opened in February 2022, and the food Co-op opened the same month.

The 4-story Broadway Lofts consists of 48 affordable and workforce apartments atop the 10,000-square-foot GreenTree Co-op Market on the ground floor. In addition to the grocery store, the ground floor features a community room, a lobby, a mailroom, and a bike storage facility available to residents for $5 per month. The project offers studio, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom apartments ranging from 450 to 750 square feet. Fifteen percent of the units are set aside for households earning no more than 80 percent of the area median income. The apartments are energy efficient and feature modern finishes, including large windows, stainless steel appliances, and quartz countertops. Each unit has its own washer and dryer.

GreenTree Co-op Market is cooperatively owned, meaning that it is owned, controlled, and operated by its members. Anyone can purchase an ownership share in the market for $210 per year, which can be paid in installments. Members can vote on business decisions, receive discounts on items, and, when the store is profitable, receive rebates in proportion to their purchases. The store provides customers with affordable and healthy food options and offers a discount program to those receiving government-supported food assistance. GreenTree also offers educational programming promoting healthy diets. Part of its mission is to support the local economy as well as farmers and producers.

Located on the western edge of downtown Mount Pleasant, Broadway Lofts is near restaurants, stores, schools, libraries, and religious institutions. Downtown Mount Pleasant hosts various events throughout the year, including farmers markets, art festivals, outdoor movies, and holiday celebrations, all within walking distance of the Lofts. The property is also close to parks and a trail network.

Financing

This $18 million development (table 1) was supported by state, local, and federal funding as well as private capital. The project received nearly $5 million in new markets tax credits, which are designed to spur community development and economic growth. MCC's vice president of development, Marilyn Chrumka, said that the grocery store was key to attracting these federal tax credits. The development received a low-interest loan from the Michigan Strategic Fund, a program of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation that promotes economic development and creates jobs. The project also benefited from Neighborhood Enterprise Zone Act and Commercial Redevelopment Act tax abatements.

A Catalyst for Community Development

The opening of Broadway Lofts on a formerly blighted vacant property has brought new investment activity to downtown. "Broadway Lofts very nicely complemented the core center of Downtown Mount Pleasant, where today, the new meets the old," Manuela Powidayko, the city's director of planning and community development, said. The demand for these units has been high. Notably, the market-rate apartments were filled even faster than the affordable ones, a phenomenon Powidayko attributes to shifting preferences among students and young professionals. "After the pandemic, this has been the type of living option that many want to have as people are more conscious about the environment and their health, so being within a walkable neighborhood, with access to parks like Island Park right behind the building, has been on top [of the] list of those looking for a new home," she said. The newly renovated grocery store also has been beneficial to the neighborhood, attracting area workers and residents. GreenTree's Broadway Lofts store is approximately four times the size of its original downtown location.

Also praising the project was Michelle Sponseller, the city's downtown development director, who explained that Broadway Lofts "not only meets the community's housing needs but has also served as a catalyst for further investment and growth in downtown Mount Pleasant." Since the project opened in 2022, developers and investors have expressed increased interest in the downtown area. For example, in October 2023, the city approved another 49-unit proposed affordable housing project one block from Broadway Lofts. Another developer is retrofitting a nearby historic bank building, adding apartments to the upper floors.