Michigan’s Housing Plan Isn’t Focused on Building More Homes
The state chooses winners and losers for taxpayer funds based on climate and equity goals
Michigan’s housing crisis is usually pitched as a math problem: not enough homes. But buried in the state’s official playbook—the Michigan Statewide Housing Plan—is another corporate welfare program steeped in social justice initiatives.
This isn’t just about supply. It’s about distribution. The Michigan State Housing Development Authority isn’t just funding buildings—it’s funding a policy agenda. And in doing so, it’s picking winners and losers.
While the majority of funding distributed in 2025 goes to local governments, homeless shelters, recovery centers, senior living facilities and developers, a review of the vendors funded in 2025 reveals some questionable use of taxpayer funds.
The plan explicitly calls for extending rental support to “refugees, immigrants, and migrants” as part of its long-term housing stability strategy. That priority shows up in the ecosystem of organizations tied to implementation.
Groups like Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services, and Jewish Vocational Service (JVS Detroit) all play roles in workforce integration and housing stabilization tied to immigrant and refugee populations.
Supporting infrastructure includes entities like Bromberg and Associates, which provides translation services, and Welcoming America, which helps shape immigrant inclusion frameworks at the policy level.
The Michigan housing plan serves as a policy blueprint that prioritizes redistributing housing access through an equity lens, with race as the central organizing principle and other social categories layered into program targeting.
Racial Equity is the plan’s No. 1 goal. Examples include:
- Women’s Sustainable Development Initiative, which focuses on women-centered housing and economic stability initiatives
- Race Forward, a national group that develops racial equity frameworks used by governments including “land justice”
- ARC4Justice, which engages in anti-racism efforts and housing equity
MSHDA’s spending also intersects with environmental goals, embedding “sustainability” into housing programs through partners like TGK Sustainable Development Group (which also promotes women-owned business) and assistance programs such as The Heat and Warmth Fund.
The line between housing policy and broader climate and social initiatives is increasingly blurred.
Meanwhile, state-backed developments range from high-profile urban projects like Lansing’s Tower on Grand to “Up North” builds like Windcrest Walloon—marketed as a “cottage court community located in the Village of Walloon.”
These choices reflect selective investment rather than a singular focus on affordability.
Finally, there's a legal layer.
The Michigan State Bar Foundation funds legal aid organizations that handle eviction defense and housing disputes. The result is a closed-loop system: The state subsidizes development, subsidizes rent relief, and subsidizes the legal infrastructure that intervenes when conflicts arise.
While that may stabilize individual cases, it raises a broader question—does it address the underlying shortage?
The housing plan doesn’t just aim to build units—it aims to reshape who those units are built for and who gets prioritized when resources are scarce. Success isn’t only measured in new units, it’s measured in whether disparities shrink or by which friends and family of the Lansing Elite benefit.
Michigan still isn’t building enough homes for regular Michiganders. The middle class is struggling while the elites sip champagne and look down on the Capitol in Lansing from their new skyscraper as “newcomers” are greeted with rental and utility assistance.
The state’s housing plan is funded by all of us, whether we can afford our mortgage or not, but it’s built on a foundation of progressive policies that only benefits those at the very top.
