The Kalamazoo City Commission voted Monday to approve a package of financial incentives for a new mixed-income apartment building in the North Side neighborhood.
The project, known as Zone 32 Phase II, would bring 38 residential units to vacant brownfield parcels at 810 N. Pitcher Street and 825 Porter Street, directly across from a completed first phase of the same development, which was finished in 2024 and includes a YMCA daycare.
What’s being built
The proposed two-story building would include 10 studio apartments, 18 one-bedrooms, and 10 two-bedrooms. Rents are targeted between 40% and 90% of area median income. Of the 38 units, 10 are committed at or below 60% AMI for 20 years — specifically, 8 units at 60% AMI and 2 units at 40% AMI.
The development is being brought forward by Zone 32 Phase Two LLC, with Jamari Bogan representing the group before commissioners at the June 15 Committee of the Whole briefing.
The incentive package
The commission approved three items related to the project at its June 15 business meeting:
The creation of a Neighborhood Enterprise Zone district at the project site, which establishes the framework for a property tax abatement. The anticipated value of that abatement is estimated at $970,140 over 15 years.
Adoption of an Act 381 Brownfield Plan for the project, authorizing up to $2,028,406 in tax increment financing over 25 years. That figure includes approximately $1.15 million in gap financing tied to the income-restricted units and just under $900,000 in site preparation and environmental assessment costs.
Approval of a $350,000 zero-interest loan from the city’s Housing Development Fund. A parallel $500,000 loan from the Brownfield Redevelopment Authority’s revolving fund is expected to be approved separately by that authority in June.
The total project cost is $11 million. The parcels are currently owned by the city’s Brownfield Redevelopment Authority and carry no taxable value; after construction, the estimated taxable value is projected at $1.71 million.
Why the city is involved
City staff framed the project in the context of the county’s housing plan, which identifies a need for 1,200 low- and mid-rise apartment units over the next six years. This project addresses approximately 3% of that identified need.
Jamie McCarthy, with the city’s Community Planning and Economic Development department, told commissioners the project required public tools because it couldn’t access traditional commercial financing on its own — a condition the city vets through third-party underwriting before recommending support.
What comes next
The development team is targeting mid-summer 2026 to close on financing and begin construction. The NEZ certificate — which formally activates the tax abatement — is expected to come before the commission for approval around the same time. Tax abatement and TIF reimbursements don’t begin until after construction is complete and the affordable units are occupied and verified.
