Annika Place II opens, adds 52 affordable apartments in Traverse City
Annika Place II opened with 52 affordable apartments and a waitlist already forming, underscoring Traverse City’s housing crunch for workers, seniors and families.
Traverse City’s latest affordable-housing addition opened on Hastings Street with 52 apartments and a waitlist already forming, a sign that lower-cost homes are still in short supply across Grand Traverse County. Annika Place II is at 1020 Hastings Street in the Traverse Heights neighborhood, and Woda Cooper Companies says the community includes one- and two-bedroom apartments with a rooftop terrace, playground, fitness center and on-site maintenance.
The building is aimed at households that cannot compete in Traverse City’s open market. City records show 34 of the apartments, or 64%, are targeted to residents earning 70% to 80% of area median income. Another 19 units are designated for permanent supportive housing, including chronically homeless households and people on the top 10% of the local coordinated-entry priority list. Five apartments are accessible. Woda also said availability can shift quickly and may show as a waitlist because demand changes hourly.
The project adds to a housing pipeline that has been building for more than a year. Michigan State Housing Development Authority approved funding for Annika Place II in June 2024, describing it as an $18 million development backed by $16.9 million in agency funding. City records show a 6% PILOT approved for 2023 to 2039. Woda said Annika Place II is the company’s fifth project in the Traverse City area, extending a local footprint that already includes Annika Place I at 947 S. Garfield Ave.
That first phase helps explain why this opening matters, even if 52 units cannot erase the shortage on its own. Woda said Annika Place I opened in May 2024 with 53 affordable homes, was fully absorbed within two months and served residents earning 30% to 80% of area median income. Rents there ranged from $377 to $1,125 per month, depending on unit size and income restriction. Woda said about 250 households were already on a waiting list before Annika Place II opened.
The broader numbers show why the pressure remains intense. A 2023 housing needs assessment found a five-year rental gap of 8,813 units across northern Michigan and a for-sale gap of about 22,455 units. Another local report found nearly half of Grand Traverse County renters spend more than a third of their income on housing, and about a quarter are severely cost-burdened. Annika Place II gives the region more apartments that are actually priced for local workers, seniors and vulnerable households, but the early waitlist shows how far Traverse City still has to go.
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