KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Former Western Michigan University football player Jamauri Bogan held a ribbon cutting for his new affordable housing development in Kalamazoo.
Bogan was joined by Governor Whitmer, the Michigan State Housing Development Authority and several local leaders at Zone 32. The new development featured 12 luxury apartment units.
"The housing here is not just decent; it's elite, right? So we're not just trying to do the bare minimum; we're trying to exceed it," he told FOX 17. "This was the opportunity that God put in front of me. But you know, this was what was needed four years ago, and we're not done yet."
Zone 32 received funding through the Missing Middle Housing Program, administered by the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA), which provided a grant of $920,178 in support of a total construction cost of about $4.7 million.
"I wanted to build something that my mom would be proud of to live in, or something that I would be proud to live in," Bogan said.
The development is a residential and commercial complex that features childcare.
"That facility is amazing, and we need more," Rashidi Shobowale-Benson said.
He's been taking his twin boys to the YMCA of Greater Kalamazoo's Early Learning Center since it opened late last year. "It's just a highlight to see when you're coming down here going to work. Every parent in this community deserves affordable housing. They deserve affordable childcare."
This may be Jamauri's first development, but he says it won't be the last.
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