In 2014, Washtenaw County contracted with Virginia-based consultant Rob Krupicka to study housing affordability across the County, and, in January of this year, he presented his findings in a report, which he delivered to officials in Ann Arbor. In his report, Krupicka warned of the instability that would invariably result if, as Ann Arbor continued to grow more wealthy, low-income individuals were increasingly pushed east, toward Ypsilanti. “You are increasingly becoming a county with an area of concentrated wealth and an area of the opposite,” said Krupicka when presenting his findings, and the resulting “balance problem” between Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, he warned, would increase instability throughout the County if not dealt with immediately.
[Read Krupicka’s report: Affordable Housing and Economic Equity Analysis]
Krupica’s central point was clear: We are fast approaching the tipping point, and immediate action is necessary. “The challenge,” he said, “is that Ypsilanti is getting close to 30 percent poverty, which puts it in company with some cities that you really don’t want to be in company with… When you get close to 30 percent or more in poverty, your ability to recover from that becomes almost impossible.” And this, he says, would not just be devastating for Ypsilanti, but for the rest of Washtenaw County.
In order to right the ship, and restore balance, Krupica called for the building of 3,139 “non-student affordable rental units” over the next 20 years in Ann Arbor and Pittsfield Township, while, at the same time, creating a demand for housing in Ypsilanti (both City and Township) that would draw an additional 4,178 “college educated” households. By doing this, he said, we might be able to avoid the worst of what awaits us.
Sadly, though, we haven’t seen much progress on either end of this equation, at least as far as I am aware, in the months since this report was issued. We’re already the 8th most economically segregated region in the United States and I don’t know that we’re seeing any signs of it getting better. While Ann Arbor continues to add luxury housing units, with little real public discussion of building additional affordable housing, Ypsilanti is aggressively courting low-income housing developers like Herman Kittle.
And, with all of that in mind, I thought now might be a good time to host a panel on affordable housing on the Saturday Six Pack, so we can find out exactly where we are with regard to increasing Ann Arbor’s affordable housing stock, which, as was noted above, is a huge piece of the puzzle… On the show, during the 6:00 hour, we will be joined by Ann Arbor City Council’s Chuck Warpehoski, the former Director of the Washtenaw County Office of Community and Economic Development Mary Jo Callan, Avalon Housing’s Michael Appel, and Brett Lenart, who, in his previous role as deputy director of Washtenaw County’s Housing and Community Infrastructure department, worked on the Affordable Housing and Economic Equity Analysis. I doubt we’ll figure everything out, but, hopefully, by the end of our conversation, we’ll at least have a better sense of where we stand, and what needs to be done if we’re ever to get more truly affordable housing in Ann Arbor.
Then, during the 7:00 hour, we’ll welcome Ypsi Community Schools art teacher Lynne Settles, a few of her students from Ypsi High, and local historian Matt Siegfried to discuss the new mural commemorating the life and accomplishments of HP Jacobs, a runaway slave from Alabama who made his way to Ypsilanti, became a janitor at what is now Eastern Michigan University, and then went on to found both a church and a school for black children here, before heading back south for several years after the Civil War, where he served in the Mississippi State Senate, helped found what is now Jackson State University, and, at the age of 65, become a doctor.
The mural, which is located at 432 Harriet Street, on the side of Currie’s barbershop, will be formally unveiled at 11:00 AM on Wednesday, November 11… Here, if you’re interested, is what it looked like a week or so ago.
And, at 7:30, we’ll talk with intrepid boy reporter Tom Perkins about all of the shit he’s been stirring up on the Ypsi beat, including his most recent series of articles on Ypsilanti’s Water Street development, and a big feature he’s presently working on for the Metro Times about gerrymandering… And, after everyone calls in to yell at him, if there’s any time left, we’ll talk with Perkins about his pickle empire.
And, here, thanks to AM 1700 senior graphic designer Kate de Fuccio, is this week’s poster, in case any of you want to print copies and distribute them in the Meijer’s parking lot.
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