An important piece has fallen into place for Stryker Corporation’s planned expansion in Portage. On Tuesday the Kalamazoo County Commission agreed to a brownfield plan for the site where Stryker wants to build.
The board also heard an update from the county housing commission on its efforts to help homeless families with children find housing.
Stryker Brownfield Project
The property, near the Kalamazoo-Battle Creek International Airport has some environmental contamination. Under the plan the county would reimburse Stryker for some cleanup and development costs. The City of Portage would get reimbursed for some site improvements.
Stryker wants to build a research and development unit on the brownfield. It says the project would create about 100 jobs.
Local Housing Assistance Fund
A Kalamazoo County campaign to house homeless families with children appears to be making steady progress. Voters approved a tax in 2015 that pays for the effort.
On Tuesday the county housing commission said it’s helped about 60 families move into homes. Approximately another 20 families expect to move in soon. About 80 more have applications in review.
The board says it has had some trouble finding enough affordable units. Michelle Davis is with Housing Resources Incorporated, a nonprofit working with the county. Davis says the county hopes that landlords will make more units available.
“I will tell you that many times when a landlord begins to work with us they may be skeptical. There are far more successes with those tenants and landlords than there are those exceptions that you tend to hear more about,” she says.
The housing board has promised to document the difference that having a home makes to children’s school performance. Commissioner John Gisler opposed the millage when it went on the ballot. But he says he’s impressed with the housing board’s plan for measuring results.
“It’s pretty thorough. I’m less skeptical than I was,” he says.
The county has said that it hopes to house 600 hundred families by the end of 2020, when the millage expires.
