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Affordable Housing in Dearborn: LIHTC Impact on Automotive City's Housing Landscape
CATEGORY
Affordable Housing
DATA
LIHTC Projects
Median Income
Racial Distributions
Population
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Affordable Housing
LIHTC Projects
Median Income
Racial Distributions
Population
Dearborn, Michigan, the hometown of Henry Ford, has 261 units of affordable housing funded through the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program. Of these, 178 are designated as low-income units. The LIHTC-funded affordable housing comprises approximately 0.63% of the city's estimated 41,269 housing units.
The city has received $2,813,358 in project tax credits for affordable housing through the LIHTC program. With approximately 6 projects, this averages $468,893 in federal funding per project. The average federal funding per unit is $10,779. Dearborn holds 0.96% of Michigan's total LIHTC funding.
Dearborn's involvement with LIHTC-funded affordable housing spans from 2000 to 2018. The first projects, Lapeer Gardens and Ferney Gardens, were completed in 2000, while the most recent addition, Dearborn Town Center Senior Apartments, was finished in 2018. The 2000s saw the most activity in affordable housing development, with four projects completed during this decade.
The distribution of units includes 1 efficiency, 90 one-bedroom, 123 two-bedroom, and 38 three-bedroom units, offering options for different household sizes.
Dearborn's population has fluctuated over the past decade. After declining from 2010 to 2019, the city experienced significant growth in 2020 and 2021, with the population increasing from 93,927 in 2019 to 108,419 in 2021. This growth coincided with a rise in median income from $53,509 in 2019 to $61,079 in 2021.
The racial distribution data from 2021 shows a predominantly white population (86%), with small percentages of Asian (2%), Black (4%), Hispanic (4%), and multiracial (3%) residents. This demographic makeup may influence the types of affordable housing needed in the community.
Despite population growth and rising median income, no new LIHTC projects have been recorded since 2018. This could suggest that other affordable housing initiatives are meeting the city's needs, or that the focus has shifted to different housing priorities.
Dearborn's LIHTC-funded affordable housing inventory represents a consistent effort to provide low-income housing options over nearly two decades. The city has attracted a significant portion of Michigan's LIHTC funding. The varied unit sizes cater to different household compositions. While recent years have seen population growth and increased median income, the pause in new LIHTC projects since 2018 may reflect changing housing priorities or the use of alternative affordable housing strategies in Dearborn.
