MSHDA Awards $9.5 Million for Garfield Township Affordable Housing Phase II

Phase I of The Flats at Carriage Commons was barely 80 percent filled when the Traverse City Housing Commission began laying the groundwork for more. On March 25, MSHDA's board approved $9.5 million for Phase II of the LaFranier Road complex, clearing the path for 48 additional income-restricted apartments at 1101 Carriage View Lane in Garfield Township.

The Flats at Carriage Commons is eventually planned to reach 210 units, with phase one covering construction of the first 48 units. Phase one was slated for completion by July 2025, and by late August, the complex was already 80 percent filled. The new MSHDA award funds the next leg of that buildout.

Phase II will add another 48 apartments to the 210 the commission ultimately plans for the site, near Bay Area Transportation Authority's new operations center at LaFranier and Hammond roads. The project's financing stack layers multiple public funding streams: MSHDA's communications director previously noted that the first phase drew on nearly $9.4 million in Low Income Housing Tax Credits, $6 million in a Michigan Economic Development Corporation grant, $3.7 million in a tax-exempt loan and $1.92 million in a MSHDA grant. Earlier MSHDA documents also reference a maximum bond authorization of $12 million connected to the project; the exact composition of Phase II's capital stack has not been publicly detailed by MSHDA or the Traverse City Housing Commission.

Income targeting for the units follows a tiered structure established in earlier MSHDA approvals. The development will have 48 family units, with 21 reserved for tenants at or below 70 percent of area median income, 19 reserved for tenants at or below 60 percent AMI, and eight reserved for tenants at or below 30 percent AMI. The Record-Eagle reported Phase II will include five handicapped-accessible units, though an earlier MSHDA press release cited 16 accessible units for the broader Flats project; MSHDA and the housing commission have not publicly reconciled those figures.

The development is the housing half of a larger transit-oriented partnership between TCHC and BATA. BATA is building a new 87,000-square-foot headquarters including administrative offices, a bus storage garage, and maintenance and dispatch facilities, plus a new bus transfer station. Project materials from TCHC describe the combined residential and transit investment as exceeding $90 million in long-term infrastructure economic impact, with projections of 50 new full-time positions in public transit, childcare, retail, and housing, and more than 75 construction workers employed across the construction phases.

Infrastructure to support the remaining phases is already moving through formal approvals. The Garfield Township Board adopted an authorizing resolution for a Community Development Block Grant application to MSHDA for $1,168,037 to install water main infrastructure serving the remaining phases of the Flats complex, including a planned Habitat for Humanity component. Habitat for Humanity Grand Traverse Region is a named partner in the broader development. Permit sets for Phase II, stamped with revision dates in late 2025 and February 2026, are on file with the township.

The development features two newly constructed buildings offering a total of 48 one- and two-bedroom units in each completed phase. Rents at The Flats range between $1,084 and $1,577 depending on the unit, well below comparable market-rate apartments in the Traverse City corridor.

Those seeking more information about the housing project can contact Traverse City Housing Commission's Tony Lentych at tlentych@tchousing.org, or developer Darren Smith of Smith & Henzy Affordable Group at dsmith@smithhenzy.com. BATA contacts for the transit portion are Kelly Dunham at dunhamk@bata.net and Eric Lingaur at lingaure@bata.net.