Development partners, elected officials and community leaders broke ground this week at 1625 Alpine Ave. NW in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Alpine Senior Apartments, a 52-unit affordable housing community for adults age 55 and older.
The $16 million development is being built by Volker Development Inc. and Little River Holdings, LLC, in partnership with Equity First Community Development LLC, on the former Twisters Ice Cream property in the West Grand neighborhood just northwest of downtown.
Alpine Senior Apartments will offer 28 one-bedroom and 24 two-bedroom apartments to seniors earning between 30% and 70% of Area Median Income. Ten apartments will be supported by project-based rental assistance vouchers administered by the Grand Rapids Housing Commission, deepening affordability for residents with the lowest incomes.
The building is designed to help older adults live independently for as long as possible, with in-unit laundry, a fitness center, a community room, enhanced building security, bicycle parking and electric vehicle charging stations. Green building features throughout the property are intended to hold down utility costs for residents on fixed incomes and reduce the building’s long-term environmental footprint.
The site sits along the Alpine Avenue corridor, within reach of transit, groceries, pharmacies and medical care, a location the development team chose deliberately so residents who no longer drive can stay connected to the neighborhood. The project also returns a long-underused commercial parcel to active use, adding to the reinvestment underway in West Grand.
