Our mission is to help build healthy neighborhoods by providing affordable housing opportunities in the Belknap, Creston and Stocking neighborhoods of Grand Rapids.
Our passion for this work and these neighborhoods is genuine, because we live here, too. All of our board members are residents of the Grand Rapids neighborhoods we serve.
We start by buying decaying homes in target neighborhoods and bringing them back to life.
New Development Corporation homes are updated with new electrical, mechanical, and plumbing systems. We remodel kitchens and bathrooms, update drywall, siding, roofs and windows. We remove all lead and asbestos hazards.
We walk new homeowners through the home buying process, from financing through closing, and celebrate with you when you take possession.
You’ll get your new house key, dangling on a house-shaped key ring. You’ll get the names of all the paint colors in your new home, for when you might need to do a touchup.
And just so you get off to the best possible start, your home will get a blessing from a neighborhood pastor: “…In this home, may strangers become neighbors, and neighbors become friends.”
We couldn’t do this work so well without our passionate volunteers, who prove that our mission isn’t just about houses. It’s about neighborhoods, community and the art and soul of helping each other.
Families pull on work gloves and clear out houses. Church youth groups rake leaves. Neighbors donate plants from their gardens to flourish in the yards of our new homeowners.
We can’t wait to see who moves in next.