TRAVERSE CITY — The 11th annual Northwest Michigan Housing Summit presented by Housing North is set for Oct. 27-28 at the Hagerty Center.
“Rooted in Community: Housing Solutions for Collective Impact” is the theme of this year’s conference, focusing on community-driven approaches highlighting broad, system-based changes to expand regional housing opportunities. The two-day event will feature keynote presentations, along with numerous workshops, roundtable discussions and legislative updates highlighting housing trends and initiatives in northwest Michigan and beyond.
“The theme of ‘Rooted in Community’ is huge because I think our region has really made some big strides over the past year,” said Yarrow Brown, executive director of Housing North.
The summit has also been expanded to add more speakers and programming highlighting expanded local and state efforts to grow the region’s housing stock.
“We’ve added more roundtables, more panels, workshops and more applications of what we’re working on,” Brown said.
Following a “State of the Region” legislative update to open the summit, the keynote address will be delivered by Norm Van Eeden Petersman, director of movement building at Strong Towns, a Minnesota-based non-profit organization that emphasizers community development through urban planning strategies that involve mixed-use zoning, infill development and walkability. He’s an author, teacher and minister and has led land-use reform and housing advocacy efforts in Ontario and British Columbia.
Other first-day events will include a panel discussion on efforts to end homelessness in northwest Lower Michigan, and a panel with representatives of the Michigan State Housing Development Authority and the Michigan Economic Development Corp. on collective efforts of those organizations to bring more housing and other redevelopment projects to the region.
Afternoon sessions include panels on using 3D printing technology for housing solutions, an overview of the Housing Atlas initiative in Grand Traverse and other regional counties, and a look at a neighborhood renewal strategy in Kalamazoo. The second set of panel discussions will highlight grant housing for housing projects and housing readiness programs, and a review MHSDA programs that support housing in northwest Michigan presented by former Traverse City Housing Commission Executive Director Tony Lentych who’s now MSHDA’s chief housing investment officer. There’s also a “Cost-Cutting in Construction” panel of how developers and communities can utilize “payment in lieu of tax” or PILOT programs to reduce housing development costs.
The first day of the summit will conclude with three additional panels on creating small-scale housing projects, exploring opportunities to attract factory-built modular housing to the region, and an overview on a new Housing Tax Increment Financing tool that provides rental housing at various price points.
Day two of the event opens with a keynote presentation of Grand Traverse County’s new Housing Atlas project featuring Leah DuMouchel of the Michigan Association of Planning. More panels will include a program on building codes and working with the Home Builders Association of Northwest Michigan, a “Strong Towns” workshop and a panel of what some local employers including Munson Healthcare are doing to create housing for their employees.
Another new feature of this year’s summit is a bus tour to visit manufactured and modular housing projects hosted by the Michigan Manufactured Housing Association. Participants will tour the Little Valley Homes project in Cadillac and the Alta Vista community near Traverse City and the Woodcreek Community to learn more about those developments.
“I think people want to see some of these actual projects that are happening,” Brown said.
Six other panels are set for the second day afternoon session including programs on housing data collection, housing readiness, new approaches to home ownership and shared equity, fair housing programs and municipal housing commission partnerships in the region.
Brown said that Housing North will also host a luncheon for all elected officials in the region for them to learn more about the organization’s programs and initiatives.
Up to 250 attendees are expected, Brown said, and registration is available at the Housing North website at www.housingnorth.org. More than two dozen businesses and organizations are helping sponsor the event, including Lake Michigan Credit Union, FHL Bank of Indianapolis, IFF, Huntington Bank, MHSDA, Networks Northwest and Artemis Development.