Multifamily housing developers in Grand Rapids are walking into increasingly hostile receptions when they propose projects in single-family neighborhoods, opposition that’s starting to reshape their strategies for where and how they build.
Case in point: More than 300 Grand Rapids residents packed a neighborhood meeting on Dec. 1 and booed a developer pitching a 43-unit townhome proposal on the city’s west side.
Housing experts say that reaction is becoming more common as most of the “easier” sites along commercial corridors have already been developed, pushing developers to look for opportunities into neighborhoods predominantly made up of single-family homes…