Leveraging Michigan’s New Housing Tax Increment Financing Tools

• Workforce housing is the “missing middle,” essential but underserved. 

• Rising costs are widening the gap between development and affordability. 

• Housing TIF is a powerful tool, but success will depend on local alignment and partnership.

During the 2026 Mackinac Policy Conference, industry and government leaders highlighted how Michigan’s 2023 expansion of the Brownfield program has opened new opportunities to support workforce housing, and how legislative changes are helping developers and communities partner more effectively to advance housing projects that might not have moved forward otherwise. 

View the full video below.

For many working families, stable housing remains just out of reach despite steady employment. Brian Farkas of Allen Edwin Homes highlighted this reality through a story of his first deal involving “a dad who was a mechanic, a mom who was a preschool teacher…and they were living with the grandparents.” He emphasized that housing insecurity persists even among those earning a living wage. His example demonstrates that workforce housing serves households earning around 80-120% of the area median income — those who typically fall short outside traditional support systems.  

Farkas knows this impact well and said, “to be able to walk through a new house with a family that had been really housing insecure…was a great experience.” 

Even as demand grows, the economics of building housing are becoming increasingly difficult to navigate. Wendy Clow of Habitat for Humanity demonstrated how middle-income households are being constrained, pointing to the widening financial gap in development. This mismatch continues to push organizations to adopt more creative financing approaches and partnerships to keep projects viable.  

“You don’t qualify for a lot of those programs anymore, but you still don’t make enough money to be able to save for a down payment or overcome other barriers to becoming a homeowner.” She said. “It could cost $300,000 or so to build a modest home. The buyer is going to be able to afford…maybe $100,000.”  

Turning policy into real housing outcomes requires more than just the right tools. The City of Dearborn’s Jordan Twardy emphasized that without clarity and coordination early on, projects will stall. He reinforced that strong partnerships between local governments, developers, and communities are essential to move projects along and eventually succeed.  

“If you don’t get those first steps right, it just toxifies the rest of it.” Twardy said, pointing to the role municipalities play in reducing friction, adding, “We’re taking what we like to call the brain damage out of it. We’re going to make that de-risk.”  

This session was hosted by Miller Johnson.