SCHOOLCRAFT TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — The Kalamazoo County Public Housing Commission is celebrating the first of ten new affordable housing units at a mobile home park near Schoolcraft.

A ribbon cutting was held Tuesday at the Sugar Loaf Mobile Home Park off Shaver Road near US-131. The homes will go to ten families with school-aged children who’ve experienced homeless and are at 60% the area medium income or below.

The community was built with funds from the 2015 Kalamazoo County housing millage. The homes were manufactured in Indiana then moved to the site near Sugarloaf Lake. Families will pay rent adjusted to their income.

“There are so many families that are working. We have many families who are not working and just everyone in between who are trying to make ends meet, trying to do the best they can with the resources that they have and unfortunately right now we just do not have enough housing that is affordable to people at multiple income levels and while there are steps that are being take to create those, this being one of them, we know that we need more,” said Patrese Griffin, president of the KCPHC.

She said the idea of using manufactured homes will get families into housing sooner.  

“It’s a unique idea. I mean, we are in times where we need creative solutions and we’re willing to take chances on all opportunities that present themselves. We are in dire need. Again, we have families who are living in cars, who are living in places that aren’t meant for human habitation and we needed solutions that weren’t going to take us years and years to come up with,” Griffin said.

The first units will go to families who are already connected to homeless liaison through their schools in Kalamazoo County.