Full Circle Communities Expands to Fourth State
In 2015, the city council of Portage, Michigan approved the vision for Selinon Park, Full Circle Communities’ first affordable housing complex in that state. Today, the Michigan State Housing Development Authority signed on to that vision with an award of more than $1.4Million in Low Income Housing Tax Credits. When it opens in 2019, Selinon Park will be a home for seventy-four households who are burdened by high housing costs and at an elevated risk of becoming homeless.
The four-building community, which includes sixteen townhomes, will offer one- to four-bedroom apartments affordable across a wide variety of income levels, with rents ranging from $348 per month on the low end up to $1,500 for a market rate four-bedroom unit. One-third of the total units will be reserved specifically for residents with disabilities, sensory impairments, and other special needs.
Multiple service providers have signed on to bring supportive services to residents of Selinon Park, including Housing Resources, Inc., Zero Day, Bronson Health Center and Kalamazoo Community Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, while Medallion Management will provide day-to-day management services.
Portage City Councilwoman Claudette Reid hopes that Selinon Park will help to dispel the myths of poverty she sees as rampant in the community. “There is a greater community misunderstanding that there are no people financially struggling in Portage; that everyone is doing just fine,” Reid explains. “Well, we do have a lot of people who are struggling, a lot of people in which housing is a consideration.” Without Selinon’s approval, many of these families would continue to struggle, crippled by housing costs that deplete nearly all of their income. But with Selinon’s approval, those struggles will finally begin to be alleviated.
Full Circle Communities has a nearly two-decade history in providing affordable housing across the United States. Its communities currently serve more than 700 households in three states. In addition to Selinon Park, Full Circle Communities is currently developing communities in Chicago’s Brainerd Park neighborhood, downtown Dubuque and McHenry, Illinois.
The Kalamazoo metro area continues to grow, and Full Circle Communities is honored to grow with them. They vow to continue to create additional opportunities for more of our neediest families to prosper.