The Grand Rapids Area Tenants Union (GRATU) is calling on the Grand Rapids City Commission to stop giving subsidies to billionaires and instead restructure the deal to fund affordable housing for Grand Rapids residents. Join us and write your email now!

Here are the details on our 3 demands.

What's Happening:

• A DeVos/Van Andel Company will build three high rise buildings in downtown Grand Rapids at a cost of $738 million.
• The Grand Rapids Brownfield Redevelopment Authority agreed to provide a $565 million subsidy for the project.
• GRATU opposes this subsidy, since the two billionaire families involved can pay for the entire project and not use public funds.

Grand Rapids Needs Affordable Housing:

• The New York Times recently reported that Grand Rapids is one of the worst cities in the U.S. for renters.
• Rents have increased up to 36% since 2020, while wages have not kept up with inflation. The median rent for an apartment in Grand Rapids was $1,100 in 2020 and is now $1,400.
• The rental rates of the 595 apartments this project proposes to build are unaffordable for a majority of the population.
• Studio apartments in the new development will go for $2,643 per month, $2,833 for a one-bedroom, $3,401 for a two-bedroom.
• The Grand Rapids Area Tenant Union is proposing that the DeVos/Van Andel development project charge $400 for a studio apartment, $500 for a one-bedroom and $800 for a two-bedroom apartment, prices that align with 30% of the median income in Grand Rapids.

Billionaires Should Be Paying For Affordable Housing Solutions

• The DeVos/Van Andel company is proposing to offer $425,000 annually over a 20 year period, a total of $8.5 million, to go towards the City’s Affordable Housing Fund.
• Yet the DeVos and Van Andel Foundations together generate assets of roughly $500 million on an annual basis.
• The Grand Rapids Area Tenant Union is proposing that the DeVos and Van Andel Foundations provide $5 million a year over the next 20 years, $100 million total, to the Affordable Housing Fund.
• This is especially fitting as charitable foundations are a way for the two billionaire families to hide some of their wealth from being taxed.

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