Manchester, a small city in western Washtenaw County, spent years trying to get houses built on a vacant lot near Carr Park. Now it has started, and the way it's paying for the streets and pipes could be a model for other small towns.
Ground was broken in September on Emerald Glen, a 30-home subdivision off Galloway Drive behind Carr Park. According to an announcement from the Washtenaw County Office of Community & Economic Development, published by The Manchester Mirror, the project is a collaboration among the City of Manchester, the Washtenaw County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority and Allen Edwin Homes. Twenty-four homes will be for sale, and six will be rentals restricted to what's affordable for a family at 100% of area median income for 15 years.
The county says it's the first brownfield project in Manchester. The city identified the vacant lot as a good candidate for housing and worked with Allen Edwin to plan the development and figure out which housing tax increment financing strategies could work.
How the money works
In 2023, Michigan amended its Brownfield Redevelopment Financing Act, known as Act 381, so local governments can use the increase in property tax revenue from a project to pay for infrastructure, utilities and parking, and to fill financial gaps on new housing. The county says Manchester was the first community in Washtenaw County to use that tool.
The county Board of Commissioners approved a brownfield plan that provides $4 million in tax increment financing to the developer to help build roads, utilities and other infrastructure. About $120,000 of the project will go to sidewalks connecting the subdivision to downtown Manchester.
A draft reimbursement and affordable housing agreement in county brownfield authority documents from July lays out the affordability rules. Rents on the six homes are capped at 100% of AMI, but households earning up to 120% of AMI, the state maximum, can qualify. The developer has to report on the affordable units every April. If a household's income rises too high at lease renewal, the developer can designate up to two other rental homes as affordable, and the authority can hold back part of the developer's reimbursement for any unit found out of compliance.
"Being the first in Washtenaw County to implement this type of TIF project had its challenges but has made it possible to bring 30 new homes to Manchester," Mayor Patricia Vailliencourt said. "Housing new families is a huge win for our schools, our downtown, our entire community."
Why western Washtenaw needs it
Nathan Voght, community development supervisor for Washtenaw County, told WEMU the western half of the county has a big, under-addressed need for affordable housing.
"It's not just a problem in the urbanized areas. It's also a problem in the Chelseas and the Manchesters and the Dexters," Voght said. "We were really happy to be able to do this, partner with the city, and we hope there's more coming."
The groundbreaking drew City Manager Michael Sessions, Mayor Vailliencourt, City Councilors Cynthia Dresch and Sue LaRocque, county OCED Director Toni Kayumi, Brian Farkas from Allen Edwin Homes, and David Hicks from Consumers Energy.
Allen Edwin's website lists Emerald Glen with homes starting at $360,900 and floor plans starting at about 1,500 square feet. The county says the project will take several years to finish, and the city expects it to boost school enrollment, support downtown businesses and bring in more families.
Allen Edwin is also using brownfield housing financing in Berrien County, where it has plans in Benton and Lincoln townships, so Emerald Glen fits a pattern of the builder pairing new neighborhoods with local tax increment deals.
Why it matters for Contractors
Emerald Glen shows how Michigan's brownfield law now reaches well beyond old factory sites. A vacant lot in a small city can qualify for tax increment financing that pays for roads, water, sewer and sidewalks, costs that can be hard for a small-town subdivision to carry on its own. That puts site contractors, excavators, underground utility crews, paving companies and concrete flatwork contractors to work first. Then come 30 houses with framing, roofing, siding, insulation, MEP, drywall, flooring and cabinets. Voght's line about hoping "there's more coming" is worth taking seriously. If Chelsea, Dexter and other western Washtenaw towns follow Manchester's lead, contractors in the area could see more small subdivisions built the same way.