A former high school in Farmington, which had been vacant for nearly 12 years, will soon be the site for Hillside Towns, a $16-million redevelopment project. Robertson Brothers, an HBA member out of Southeast MI, is redeveloping the 3-acre site to create 53 affordable townhomes. This is the first significant residential project Downtown Farmington has seen in decades.

Thanks to bipartisan legislation that was signed into law last session and this session, we are seeing the outcomes of those laws being implemented around the state with new homes for our workforce being built. The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) gave a $1 million grant for brownfield redevelopment which allowed the contaminated property in Farmington to be cleaned. Since 2019, EGLE has provided more than $150 million in brownfield grant loans and incentives to 360 sites across Michigan. With these incentives in place, more land can be redeveloped, bringing much needed workforce housing into our communities.

According to research conducted by the Michigan Growth Office on 6,000 18–34-year-olds across the country, for 94% of them, the number one factor that will determine where they end up living is housing affordability.

HBAM will continue to work with the administration, the legislature and our housing partners to get more incentives and workforce development tools passed into law. Housing is economic development and without housing for our workforce, our businesses will struggle to find the talent they so desperately need. Creating attainable housing around the state is critical for Michigan to grow its population and be a destination where people come to work, play and live.

Hillside Towns construction is expected to start later this year, and Robertson Brothers anticipates the first units will be completed by 2025.