Grand Rapids is facing a significant housing shortage, with the city's need for more housing options on the rise. The current demand for affordable housing has prompted residents the city at unconventional solutions, such as converting garages into homes.
Eddie Tadlock, a Grand Rapids resident, expressed the urgency of the housing situation: “The need is there, and to get to the number of, I guess, required housing, with the growth in the community, it's not going to happen without other options.”
Recent reports from a 2023 study indicate that Kent County will need more 37,000 housing units, and projections show Grand Rapids will need over 14,000 units by the year 2027.
One proposed solution is the use of Accessory Dwelling Units, or ADU's. Grand Rapids Mayor David LeGrand explained in his Mayor Minutes chat, “It stands for accessory dwelling unit, and what that really means is a garage that you turn into housing.”
The abundance of garages in Grand Rapids makes them ideal candidates for conversion.
LeGrand added, “Grand Rapids has a lot of garages. I have one, and a lot of them are potential housing units. So if we're going to have affordable housing in Grand Rapids, we just need more housing.”
Residents like Tadlock support the ADU concept.
“There are a lot of homes in Grand Rapids with detached garages that are ripe for that opportunity. And I've seen it done in lots of other cities around the country, like LA Seattle, which been a very successful way to increase the housing stock," Tadlock said.
However, there are questions about how such conversions would work. Deborah Vanderweele, a West Michigan resident, noted the concept is, “Odd in the sense that we access the home through the garage. So that might be something. You could probably build a wall to get around that, but that would have to be done.”
As families grapple with the tough housing market, they see converting garages into ADUs as a potential avenue for relief.
Erika Vansingel shared, “Our children have been looking for places to rent, and there's not a lot out there, and especially affordable places to rent is difficult to find.”
The city plans to support the process of turning garages into Accessory Dwelling Units in the coming months, offering a potential solution to the housing crisis in Grand Rapids.
This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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