Nate Heffron, city manager, city of Negaunee

NEGAUNEE — Housing is topic that can evoke many thoughts and emotions – primality due to the area’s lack of it. How do we overcome the emotions surrounding this issue, so we can effectively solve it and actually provide housing? Problems are rarely fixed by raw emotional responses alone.

To begin with, most of the emotional response centered around our housing stock has to do with the direct cost of owning a home. The cost to buy an existing home about ten years ago was about $150,000 or less. But today, those houses sell for much, much more!! The reasons are both varied and complex. However, two major influences of prices are centered around supply and demand and with equity. Under the rule of supply and demand, less housing stock pressures the market to increase current housing stock value. Equity is increased when repairs, upgrades and additions may add extra equity value to residential properties over time.

Couple the above factors with an increased cost for materials, limited access to skilled labor all around the U.P., the cost of land, as well as the cost to develop utilities and infrastructure such as water, sewer, electric, and streets, it’s no wonder why affordable or attainable homes in our area are so scarce.

Unfortunately, local government can only do so much – short of actually building homes. However, like Negaunee, I am sure many of our communities in the U.P. don’t have millions of extra dollars lying around to pay for residential development. That’s why it’s encouraging to see some assistance coming from the State of Michigan in the form of funding that could make a real-world difference in getting housing built in our communities throughout Michigan.

Negaunee is working hard to address the housing issue locally. Should we be able to tap into any of this funding or set the pathway in Negaunee for developers to receive it, we certainly will welcome it.

This is why we recently announced a series of Senior Housing Listening Sessions that will be held at the Negaunee Senior Center. Anyone can attend these sessions; however, we will be primarily looking for feedback from our senior citizens to assess their housing needs here in Negaunee

According to the latest Target Market Analysis report by LandUseUSA, 47% of existing homeowners in Marquette County are above the age of 60, with renters in that same age group at 27%. These sessions will be critically important to engage with community members and solicit comments/suggestions from seniors on their housing needs. This information will be used for future senior housing projects and in turn, free up existing housing stock.

Housing development and senior housing have both been identified as goals under the Negaunee Master Plan. Should the city be successful in attracting a developer for senior housing, it will allow us a two-for-one deal. Seniors can then move out of their existing homes to new housing “downsizing,” opening their former homes to new families for purchase. This one activity alone can help save tens of thousands of dollars, if not more for first-time home buyers or families who need to upgrade to new housing.

Over the next few months, I will continue write about housing. I will explain other actions the City of Negaunee has taken to attract new housing and what we intend to do in the future. This is a critical issue. It must be met with real solutions.

These listening sessions will take place on April 23, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., April 25 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., May 14 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., and May 16 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. All sessions will be held at the Senior Center, located at 410 Jackson St., Negaunee.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Nate Heffron is city manager of the city of Negaunee.