Next week, the Northwest Michigan Habitat for Humanity chapter will complete the final house of the season in the organization’s Meadowlands project in Alanson.
Located near Lakeview and Armock roads, the 38th home in the Meadowlands marks the completion of a project that served as the local chapter’s contribution to Habitat for Humanity’s first Rural Rally, part of the Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project.
Kyle Ulrich, director of development for the Northwest Michigan chapter, said the project began in 2021.
“We were fundraising at that time to build a community of 32 affordable homes and we added on to that by resurveying and the purchase of additional property to increase it to 38 homes,” Ulrich said.
Since breaking ground on the first Meadowlands home in 2022, officials said the neighborhood has been transformed into a thriving community where families are building security, stability and self-reliance.
“Fifty percent of the workforce in our area drives in from another county. What we want to do is to allow people to live where they work,” Ulrich said.
Ulrich added that 30 of the homes have already been sold. Most of the homes have three bedrooms and one bathroom, or about 1,100-1,200 square feet, while some have two bedrooms and one bathroom. The homes are sold at appraised value, he said.
The three bedroom, one bath home is priced around $260,000 to $265,000, and Ulrich said financing is available for some families who may not have to get a mortgage for more than $190,000.
Ulrich said most of the work on the project has come from volunteers and homeowners.
“The Habitat model requires participating homeowners to do 200 hours of sweat equity,” on such things as landscaping and finishing off the interior,” he added.
“We build modular homes, so they come about 80% complete,” said Ulrich.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer toured the Meadowlands development in 2023 to view the progress at the site.
“Completing our final home delivery of the Meadowlands development represents more than a construction milestone, it’s about the power of homeownership to transform families,” Sarah Ulrich, executive director of Northwest Michigan Habitat for Humanity, said in a statement. “Our participation in Habitat’s Rural Rally highlights the critical housing challenges facing working families in resort communities like ours, where seasonal demand drives prices beyond the reach of local workers who want to live and work in Northern Michigan.”
As Northwest Michigan Habitat for Humanity wraps up this building season with 12 homes sold, the organization is already looking ahead to next year’s construction schedule.
“We have 18 homes scheduled for 2026,” said Kyle Ulrich.
For more information, visit northwestmihabitat.org.
— Contact Paul Welitzkin at pwelitzkin@gaylordheraldtimes.com
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Last home to mark completion of Habitat for Humanity’s Meadowlands project in Alanson
Reporting by Paul Welitzkin, The Petoskey News-Review / The Petoskey News-Review
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
