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A nonprofit developer is eyeing Boyne City for housing projects that would bring dozens of new apartments and businesses to the downtown area.
Many officials see it as a golden opportunity to address housing needs but the plans still have hurdles to clear and some may still need convincing.
Boyne City is the largest municipality in Charlevoix County — bigger than the City of Charlevoix by more than 1,000 people, according to census data.
This year, the nonprofit Michigan Community Capital is hoping to see two proposals become a reality. Both are mixed-use apartment buildings.
Over its 16-year history, MCC says it has supported over $1 billion in project funding. Most recently, projects in Mount Pleasant, Grand Rapids, Detroit and Flint have seen success.
Marilyn Chrumka, MCC’s vice president of development, said the projects would address a dire need.
“This is very much targeting people that want to live in Boyne City, year round that work in one city and not for visitors,” she said.
Over the past several years Boyne City has worked on passing ordinances and zoning plans to attract developers. It got “redevelopment ready” certification from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation in 2019.
What will they look like?
“Lofts on Lake” would be built on an empty lot on North Lake street just across the street from the shores of Lake Charlevoix.
MCC acquired the land in 2019 and got plans for a 45-unit apartment building approved by the city. But Chrumka said her organization wasn’t able to get funding for the project. MCC’s website said the pandemic delayed normal business operations across the state and the project was stalled.
A more ambitious plan was drawn up to address community needs.
“We decided to increase our building by one storey, which added an additional 20 apartments,” Chrumka said. “We're also strongly targeting a childcare tenant on the first floor.”
Now, the proposal includes about 60 apartments and commercial space dedicated to a child care provider - a service northern Michigan badly needs more of.
But having new plans means it's back to square one - getting approval from the city and planning commissions.
The other project is on land owned by the local library at 211 South Park Street and 214 Ray Street.
It would turn a parking lot into a 40-unit apartment building with space on the bottom floor to expand the library with a new community room and more room for other business.
The need
According to data from the nonprofit Housing North, Charlevoix County needs nearly 730 more rental units to keep up with demand and population growth.
The lack of available units has displaced the area’s workforce to other communities, including people like Boyne District Library Director Monica Peck, who now lives in Gaylord with her family instead of where she’d rather live.
“I love Boyne City. I was born and raised here. I graduated from Boyne City High School,” she said. “We just looked and looked and looked and we could not find anything that fit our family and was in our price range.”
“We have several young people who live at home with their parents, who have told me, ‘Geez, we really hope this happens, because we would love to be able to have the opportunity to rent one of those apartments.’”
Monica Peck
Boyne District Library director
Peck commutes to Boyne City for work and sends her kids to Boyne Public Schools.
And while her family may be too big for an apartment now, she said that shouldn’t stop other young families from having the option to live downtown. That includes some people who work at her library.
“We have several young people who live at home with their parents, who have told me, ‘Geez, we really hope this happens, because we would love to be able to have the opportunity to rent one of those apartments,’” Peck said.
Peck said many of her fellow library board members are already convinced of the proposal but that the city council and other residents might be more difficult.
Addressing concerns
MCC has held four public meetings to debut the plans to residents. Boyne City Mayor Tim Nemecek has attended each.
“I needed to gauge and really grasp what was the community's interest. Because there could be a lot of misinformation and not really valid concerns being displayed throughout social media,” he said. “But I want to make sure that I'm tentative and I'm making myself available to address some very valid concerns.”
One of those concerns, he said, is around affordability. Both projects would base their rents around the area median income, which for Boyne City is around $60,000 per year.
According to MCC, most of the units in the two buildings would be affordable to someone who makes between 60 and 100 percent of that $60,000. That’s too high to qualify as “low-income housing” but it addresses something housing advocates call “the missing middle.”
The thought is, if moderate-income residents like Peck can find a home in their price point, that will free up more housing stock for people in other income levels.
“There needs to be development at all of the different income levels,” Chrumka said. "These are just two projects to address one portion of the income.”
Another concern is around the longevity of MCC’s ownership.
Nemecek said some residents worry about the nonprofit selling the buildings to a private owner who could increase rents or turn them into Airbnbs.
“There needs to be development at all of the different income levels. These are just two projects to address one portion of the income.”
Marilyn Chrumka
Michigan Community Capital
But Nemecek, who’s also a realtor, said he’s working on proposing deed restrictions to keep prices tied to the area median income no matter the owner.
“It could be sold to 100 different buyers,” he said. “Every time a new buyer buys that land, when they go to the closing table they're going to have to read and sign the disclosure of a deed restriction, saying that these have to be 60% to 100% of area median income.”
Incoming hurdles
While other concerns around parking or designs have come up, Nemecek said the time is right for Boyne to pursue these projects.
As the county risks losing residents to other areas, summer rentals eat up real estate and businesses struggle with retaining employees, Nemecek said some residents will have to expect change.
Chrumka said the decision is in the community's hands now.
MCC's proposed development, she said, offers housing that doesn't exist int he community right now, expands a childcare facility and expands the library's community room.
“If they decide that they would rather have parking there, instead of all these benefits, that's really their decision," Chrumka said, "and I can move on to a community that would support a project and welcome a project.”
MCC will seek approvals from the Boyne City Planning Commission and the Boyne City Commission in February and March of 2024.
If supported by the community, the project will apply for funding from the MEDC and Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) sometime in the spring.
