We've been hard at work.
Housing prices just keep rising.
Our model, where the land trust owns the land and leases it to homeowners, helps keep homeownership within reach. Our mission is our North Star: to provide homes that households earning 60–120% of Area Median Income (AMI) can afford. Therefore, when pricing our homes, we consider key factors such as the appraised value of the home, the actual cost of construction, and general market conditions.
Our four Grove Place homes, HTB's first project launched in 2023, were priced at 25% below appraised value. Cottages at Corning, four new homes that will be ready in 2026, will be sold at 30% below appraised value. We now know that each housing project will be individually priced, but keeping our mission at the forefront is now a proven model that puts Benzie County families and communities first.
2025 - 2026
COTTAGES AT CORNING
At the corner of 9th Street and Corning Avenue in the City of Frankfort, HTB plans to break ground on four two-bedroom, cottage-style, single-family homes. Each home includes an attached garage and access to shared community green space.
The land was secured through a purchase agreement with the Family of Faith Nazarene Church, and proceeds from the sale will be used for building improvements to the church and parsonage. Two parcels will be redrawn to separate the church’s parsonage from the new development. This marks the organization’s second housing initiative, expanding its impact on community-owned housing in Benzie County. Construction is scheduled to begin this fall, with the homes available for sale by spring 2026. The Housing Trust will partner with Weaver Barns and a team of local contractors and tradespeople to bring the project to life.
Each home requires approximately $50,000 in philanthropic support to close the gap between the development costs and what local families can afford. Help us make this project happen!
CURRENT STATUS:
Site work has commenced! Exterior construction will begin this winter.
2023 - 2024
GROVE PLACE
Our first project was the building of 4 new 3 bed/2 bath homes on Grove Place in Frankfort. All four homes are complete and occupied by workers in Benzie County, including a librarian, food service worker, graphic designer, grocery store department manager, construction worker, student and a civil service employee.
Check out a walk-through video of one of our Grove Place homes here!
Grove Place became the...
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First CLT housing project realized in Northern Lower Michigan
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First “Missing Middle” grant-awarded housing built in the state
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First middle-income housing project built and...
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Only new middle-income home construction in 15 years in Frankfort city limits
