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FOUNDATIONS
The foundation for the organization that would become HomeStretch was laid in the summer of 1996 when Rotary Camps and Services funded a comprehensive Housing Needs Study for the Traverse City Region. The study found that almost half of the area residents could not afford their own housing and characterized the situation as an “affordable housing crisis.” In response, the Affordable Housing Task Force, which had been formed by the Basic Needs Committee of the Traverse Bay Area Human Services Coordinating Council, organized and incorporated HomeStretch to “serve as a clearinghouse for ideas and develop solutions to the crisis.”
EARLY ORGANIZATION
The Board of HomeStretch began meeting in February of 1997 and focused on building “strategic partnerships among agencies that don’t have the resources to tackle the issue alone.” Two volunteers staffed the HomeStretch office but by the fall of 1997, HomeStretch was ready to hired its first employee and head of the organization, William R. Merry, who remains today as its Executive Director
A NEW DIRECTION
On April 16, 2003 the Board of Directors of HomeStretch decided to become a Community Land Trust in order to preserve the future affordability of its homes. In a Community Land Trust, the organization retains ownership of the land and executes a ground lease with the homebuyer at the time of purchase, typically for 99 years. A resale formula is determined which balances the homeowner’s equity interest with the affordability interests of the community. For a more detailed description of Community Land Trusts, see our HomePage Newsletter. You may also visit the Institute for Community Economics (ICE) site for a comprehensive look at the various types of Community Land Trusts and how they work to keep housing affordable.
MOVING UP
Over the years HomeStretch has expanded its yearly production of homes from a single duplex in 1998 to thirteen homes in 2003. This increase in production resulted in an increasing amount of paperwork and record keeping and more staff to keep up with the increased workload. One thing that did not expand was the small office on Hastings Street, so on February 10, 2004 HomeStretch moved into new office space on the fourth floor of the Grandview Plaza. These spacious quarters have more than three times the space of the old office and offer a commanding view of the hills to the south of the city. We are very happy in our new “home.”
A VIEW OF THE POND
 With the beautiful renovation of the old Grandview Plaza into the Bayview Professional Centre came increased cost for the space occupied by HomeStretch. As the organization changed and another employee was added, it became evident that the office configuration needed to change as well, but the space available in the Bayview building would no longer meet our needs at a cost we could afford. When we were offered the opportunity to lease a wing in an office building in Logan Place West with a view of the pond, we couldn’t believe our luck.
On March 28, 2007 HomeStretch moved to 3104 Logan Valley Road, Suite 300. Our new office space has four offices, a board room and a supply room  large enough to accommodate the copier, coffeepot and all our supplies. The total space is only about three hundred square feet more than our old offices, but the layout meets our needs better and uses the space more efficiently. We may not have a “view of the bay”, but we have a view of the pond, and while it may not be as magnificent as the big lake, the pond certainly is fascinating. So far we have seen two great blue herons, mute swans, various ducks, geese, muskrat, turtles, gulls and a great egret. We plan to stay here for a long time.
REFINING THE MODEL
When HomeStretch became a Community Land Trust 2003 we also were the first regional land trust in the state of Michigan. Being a pioneer in this new way of preserving affordability also brought its own set of unexpected challenges and it became apparent that some modification to the land trust model was needed to address the issues. Primary among the problems to be solved was the issue of property taxes. As HomeStretch retained ownership of the land under the Ground Lease, Michigan’s code did not allow the land to receive the lower homestead tax rate, although the home itself could. This resulted in a higher than expected tax burden for some buyers. Working with the Michigan Housing Development Authority, a modification was made to the land trust model to allow the retention of future affordability while allowing homeowners to receive the homestead tax rate for both the home and the land.
Starting with the Ridgewood homes, the Ground Lease has been replaced with a recorded Declaration of Affordability. The Declaration contains the same conditions as the Ground Lease to ensure the future affordability of the homes, yet allows the land as well as the home, previously called “the improvements” under the Ground Lease, to be transferred to the homebuyer. The deed transferring the property to the new owner contains language to tie the property to the Declaration of Affordability and its conditions, preserving the affordability of the home for future buyers. See our CLT News page for more details.
AN ADJUSTMENT OF FOCUS
Changes in the focus of the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) and the lackluster housing market has changed the focus of HomeStretch. As the funding for single family and small rental development has been virtually suspended, HomeStretch looked for a type of development for which funding was available that would fit with our mission of building affordable housing. The answer was Supportive Housing. A year and a half ago HomeStretch submitted its first Low Income Housing Tax Credit application for the construction of Keystone Village, a twenty-four unit permanent supportive housing complex. The application was successful and we are ready to break ground for the much needed housing.
HomeStretch also converted four townhouse units that were part of the Ridgewood project to permanent supportive housing. Changes in the surrounding neighborhood and the sluggish housing market combined to suppress interest in the purchase of these homes. As supportive housing however, interest was extremely strong and all the units were rented immediately.
Although tax credit projects and supporting housing are the focus now, HomeStretch will continue to manage the homes currently in the CLT and move forward with the construction of the three Honor Main Street homes. In a few years, the sources of funding for single family homes may be restored, and our focus may shift again.
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HomeStretch is continually faced with the daunting challenge of providing quality, attractive, low- cost housing for a growing population of low-income families. Area wages are not keeping pace with rapidly rising real estate costs, making it very difficult for the region’s working families to afford adequate housing.
