The harsh realities of the cost of rent in Grand Rapids and why so-called affordable housing is a false solution

For years now politicians and developers in Grand Rapids keep telling us that there needs to be a significant increase to the amount of new housing units in this area. In fact, the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce created group, Housing Next, states on their website that in Kent and Ottawa Counties there needs to be 14,618 new rental homes in 2025 and 17,278 new homes to for sale in 2025.

This increase in housing units is based on projections for the growth of Grand Rapids and the rest of West Michigan. And as we all know, within a capitalist economy growth is good, hell bigger is always better.

In the last 9 months there have been several new apartment complexes announced in Grand Rapids, with the cost of said units in the MLive stories I want to look at. 

In January of 2024, MLive reported on the apartment building project that is happening on Plainfield Avenue, right next to the former Creston Brewery. According to the MLive article, the one-bedroom  units will go for $1,400 to $1,600 a month. The two-bedroom apartments will go for “around $2,200 a month.”

In May of 2024, MLive reported that there will be new apartment buildings that will be built next to the new downtown Amphitheater and the new soccer stadium. These two new projects received received a $290 million subsidy from the City of Grand Rapids.

According to the MLive article, “Estimated monthly rental rates for the amphitheater housing show an income-restricted, one-bedroom apartment would be $1,888 per-month, according to the city. The same unit at the market rate would be a $126 more at $2,014 per-month. A two-bedroom unit in the same building would go for $3,157 per month at the market rate, and $2,267 per-month for an income-restricted unit.” 

In the past few days, there have been two new apartment projects announced, one in Boston Square Neighborhood and the other one in the Wealthy Street corridor. The Boston Square Neighborhood project is 57 housing units, and “Depending on household size and income, the apartments could range in price from $453 to $2,500 a month,” according to MLive.

The last example was announced on Sunday, with MLive reporting that, “The three apartments that will be located upstairs will include a one-bedroom unit and two two-bedroom units, starting at $2,500 a month.”

Now, none of these four examples from this year seem to be “affordable”, even within the current area median income (AMI) for Kent County. In the article about the Amphitheater and Soccer stadium apartment projects, 2nd Ward City Commissioner Ysasi made this comment regarding “affordability”: 

“I think with every project we want to get to 60% or 80% AMI,” said Commissioner Ysasi, referring to AMI levels that are lower than what’s included in the amphitheater and soccer stadium housing plan. “We also recognize what are the realities of a transformational project.”

It would seem that making apartments affordable isn’t really a priority to the City, especially since transformational projects are the priority. And let’s be clear, when local elected officials say transformational, they mean it will bring lots of tourist dollars to the city, which always trumps affordability.

Why housing affordability is a false solution

As you can see from the graphic below, in order for people to afford the average cost of rent in Grand Rapids – for a 2 bedroom apartment – they would need to earn $26.33 an hour. And that is just to cover the cost of rent, which excludes food, utilities, transportation, health care costs, student loan payments, etc.

Using the term “affordable housing” as a framework is deeply problematic and it will ultimately be a false solution. Affordable housing in Grand Rapids happens only because the developer has received significant state, county or city subsidies or tax breaks. Only through the use of public funding can developers afford to build new housing units and then charge what are labeled affordable prices. However, in many cases, the developer or the company that will own the apartments, can then chose to charge “market rates” a few years down the road. This means that the public makes it possible for developers construct new apartment buildings because they are supposedly affordable, but within a few years they can charge a whole lot more because the market dictates they can.

There are several reasons why using the affordable housing narrative problematic. First, such a narrative makes it seems like poor and working class people are getting special privileges, since the tax breaks and subsidies make it so. However, the fact is, the developers/Property Management companies are the ones receiving public assistance. 

Second, if people actually made a living wage, a wage where they could afford the cost of rent, food, utilities, transportation, health care, etc., then affordability is useless. We need to flip the narrative and say…..if people earned a living wage they could afford the cost of housing.

Third, the affordable housing narrative is often used in the same narrative that says that housing is a human right, just like the GR Chamber created group Housing Next says. If housing were truly a human right, then there would be no profitability in housing. We don’t say to people you have a right to free speech, the right to vote or the right to not experience discrimination – only if you can afford it. No, because we view these things as rights and not through the lens of market Capitalism. 

If we are serious about making sure that everyone has a right to a place to live, then we should stop using the “affordable housing” narrative. If we want to practice housing as a human right and housing justice, then we need to address the fundamental problem of Capitalism, where everything and everyone is ultimately a commodity. 

We obviously need to organize and support tenant unions, like the Grand Rapids Area Tenant Union, which fights to build tenant power. I would also suggest that you read the book, Abolish Rent: How Tenants Can End the Housing Crisis, co-authored by Tracy Rosenthal and Leonardo Vilchis. We can continue to pressure elected officials, but the most effective strategy is to be organized, so we can force elected officials, landlords and Property Management Companies into meeting the demands of tenants.