Van’t Hof Chapel Redevelopment into Senior Housing
The groundbreaking held on November 13, 2024.
It took three tries in about 3 years, but the developers behind a proposed senior housing project finally secured federal low-income housing tax credits (LIHTC) in 2023. The one-acre site located at 851 Leonard Street Northwest in Grand Rapids has been home to a historic former funeral home, Van’t Hof Chapel built in 1931. Genesis Non-Profit Housing Corp. purchased the property in 2018. Genesis had applied twice for LIHTC in 2021 with the intention of trying to preserve a portion of the funeral home. The plan received support from the local planning commission and other local officials but failed to score high enough to receive the LIHTC because of the high cost of preserving the funeral home and the lower number of units originally proposed. So in 2022, Genesis revised it’s plan: Demolish the building and have the proposal to include 55 units. You can read a more detailed accounting of the process here. The most recent building use was for the Genesis administrative offices. Groundbreaking was held on November 13, 2024 and construction is underway.
About the Project:
Leonard Apartments will be the new construction of forty-eight one bedroom and seven two-bedroom units for seniors at affordable rents for a total of 55 units.
The 55-unit senior living community is a partnership project with Genesis Nonprofit Housing Corporation the Dwelling Place of Grand Rapids and the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians.
It will feature Grand Rapids Housing Commission and Wyoming Housing Commission project-based vouchers. Twenty-two vouchers in all.
Leonard Apartments will feature forty-eight one-bedroom apartments and seven two-bedroom apartments, all of which will be accessible, with eight able to accommodate wheelchair users. Nine apartments will be reserved for members of the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians and citizens of other federally recognized Native American tribes.
There will be a 1,100-square-foot community room, a smaller meeting room, property management office and thirty-six parking spaces.
Outdoor spaces include a lower-level courtyard and two rooftop decks on the south side of the building, connected by a bridge providing inviting communal living areas.
The project will meet Enterprise Green Community Standards.
Genesis plans to expand their current partnership with Grand Valley State University Kirkhof College of Nursing. Nurse interns at Leonard Apartments will offer a valuable resource on-site by helping residents with questions about health.
An image of what the project will look like.
The development is a joint venture between Genesis Nonprofit Housing Corporation, Dwelling Place of Grand Rapids, and Little River Band of Ottawa Indians. Both the Grand Rapids and Wyoming Housing Commissions are providing rental assistance to the development so it will be affordable for our senior households. Several of the units will be reserved for Tribal members of any federally recognized tribe.
An image of the project design at the groundbreaking.
The building will be four stories in height and have eight barrier free type A units. All the units will be visitable. The property will meet Green energy standards. Their development team consists of DeStigter Architecture, Pinnacle Construction General Contractor, Tim Orlebeke Attorney, Beene Garter Accountant and Real Estate Consultants: Tom Caldwell and Kara Harrison-Gates with Mosaic Community Advisors and George Larimore with Turnstone Services.
Their financing partners include the Kent County through IFF for a first mortgage of $3,280,000, the City of Grand Rapids with a loan of $1.2 million from the Affordable Housing fund, equity of $12.2 million from their partners at Cinnaire, and an $8.2 million construction loan from Huntington Bank.
The expected completion date is December 2025 with stabilized occupancy by June 2026.