Consultants outline housing supply, affordability and zoning options at Battle Creek City housing kickoff

BATTLE CREEK, Mich. — At a public housing kickoff hosted by Battle Creek City, Ryan Kilpatrick, owner of Flywheel Community Development Services, told residents and officials that the city's housing market faces a structural mismatch between what most households want and the housing that is permitted and built.

"We don't just build housing for the sake of housing," Kilpatrick said. "We build it for the sake of creating community." He described demographic shifts, financing constraints and land-use rules that he said limit smaller, lower-cost housing options in Battle Creek.

Kilpatrick said roughly two-thirds of Battle Creek households are single adults or two adults with no children at home, while about 70% of the city's housing stock is single-family houses. He said local data show the median monthly payment for a home in Battle Creek at a 6.5% mortgage rate is about $1,400, which makes homeownership potentially affordable for some professions such as teachers but places pressure on lower-paid workers. "You still have a big opportunity to maintain affordability for these middle income…