An 80-unit affordable housing development is planned for behind the Marathon gas station at the corner of Garfield and Hammond roads, with Garfield Township planning commissioners voting this week to hold a public hearing on the project on July 12.

Outlook Development is planning to build five two-story buildings containing 16 units each on the roughly 13-acre parcel, which fronts both Garfield and Hammond roads surrounding the gas station. According to the application, apartments will include a mix of two and three-bedroom units. “The buildings will be designed as two-story, wood-frame structures with brick and fiber cement siding,” the application states. “Design features will include energy-efficient windows and doors, high R-value insulation, along with many family-friendly features including central heated and air-conditioned living areas, ceiling fans, dishwasher, and microwave appliances. High-quality construction techniques and energy-efficient materials will result in a product that meets sustainable building standards.”

The complex, called the Village at Garfield, will have a community building/room, on-site laundry, playground, and an outdoor covered gathering area. “Our development team has developed and operates similar properties in Michigan and other states,” the application states. “All our properties enjoy high occupancy levels due to superior facility design and excellent property management performance. The Grand Traverse County area has a significant lack of affordable housing stock and has a growing need for additional affordable housing. Occupancy levels for existing housing in the area are near 100 percent, and most affordable housing has significant waiting lists.”

Outlook Development recently received approval from Garfield Township to rezone the property from agricultural to multi-family residential, indicating at the time the company planned to build affordable housing. The property was originally part of a larger parent parcel that included the BATA/Traverse City Housing Commission site currently under construction at the corner of Hammond and LaFranier. The property was historically used for agricultural purposes, but has not recently been actively farmed. Wetlands populate some sections of the parcel. The township’s future land use map envisions the property being used for high-density residential, which township leaders found to be compatible with the rezoning request.

Outlook Development also received approval this spring from township trustees for a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) agreement for the property. A PILOT agreement allows developers to pay a percentage of rental income to the township – in this case, four percent – in lieu of traditional taxes to offset costs associated with developing affordable housing and charging below-market rental rates. The PILOT would be in place for 35 years. A PILOT is usually combined with other funding sources to support the project, such as Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) grants or loans. Construction on the Village at Garfield is estimated at $13 million, according to the PILOT agreement.

Township Planning Director John Sych told planning commissioners this week that the project fits with the long-term vision for the corridor – primarily, to host multi-family housing. He noted that properties are all serviced by water and sewer so they’re “able to accommodate the higher densities.” The Village at Garfield is one of several housing projects underway or that have recently come online in the area, including the BATA/TC Housing Commission project, the Village at LaFranier Woods, and a 196-unit expansion of Ridge45 – planned to return to planning commissioners next month for a possible vote.

Some aspects of Outlook Development’s plans will need to be refined heading into next month’s public hearing. Those include the developers providing state-verified delineation of wetlands on the property, meeting landscape buffer requirements, detailing snow storage plans, and obtaining required approvals from agencies like the Grand Traverse County Road Commission and GT Metro Fire. Sych recommended waiving a traffic impact report for the Village at Garfield, noting the project fronts a five-lane road and that there aren’t many traffic or signal improvements developers could undertake that aren’t already in place in the corridor.

Township officials are expected to have more discussion about the access points to the development. The apartment complex is proposed to have two driveways onto Garfield Road, but none on Hammond. Sych said the goal is to eliminate more driveways on Hammond, as it’s a “significant east-west corridor.” Providing cross-access from the apartment complex to the Marathon gas station and determining how road access would work if a roundabout were ever installed at the Garfield/Hammond intersection were other topics raised for discussion. Township officials also supported requiring Outlook Development to install a bike lane in front of the development along Hammond Road, as well as a sidewalk that would connect the bike path to the neighborhood’s internal sidewalk network.