GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — The Grand Rapids Planning Commission has approved a special land use request for a 48-unit affordable housing development on the site of the shuttered Stocking school.
Commissioners on Thursday voted unanimously in support of the request. The approval carried a number of conditions, including limiting construction activities to between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. and modifying entrances to be more consistent with the neighborhood.
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Commonwealth Development Corporation of America is looking to transform the 3.5-acre site on 7th Street NW near Alpine Avenue NW into a housing community. The plan involves renovating the existing school into a 24-unit apartment building, then adding two new structures. One new building would have 14 units and the other would have 10 units.
Initial plans show that 12 of the units would be reserved for households earning up to 30% of the area median income, another 12 would be set aside for households earning up to 40% AMI, and the remaining 24 units would be reserved for households earning up to 70% AMI.
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Based on community feedback, the company has revised some of its plans, Sam Warshauer with Commonwealth told planning commissioners Thursday. For instance, while the company initially intended to call the development “The Foundry at Stocking,” that name has been scrapped and the project will now be known as “Stocking School Apartments.” And while the initial plan called for 67 parking spots, neighborhood feedback prompted Commonwealth to get rid of a few of those spots and add more green space instead…