NFP board approves 48-unit supportive housing site plan at 1900 Belfort Street, with conditions

The NFP Review Board on June 24 approved a final site plan for a 48‑unit multifamily supportive housing development at 1900 Belfort Street (formerly 333 East Alcott Street), with conditions that the applicant remove specified non‑native plant species from the landscape plan and obtain final approval from the stormwater engineer.

Board staff described the property as a Kalamazoo brownfield site adjacent to Portage Creek and said the project has been in the city development process since 2022. Nolan (staff) told the board that after staff review they were recommending full approval “with the condition that if the stormwater engineer approves their stormwater plans, they're good to go.”

The project team, led by Matt Hollander of Edison Community Partners, described the development as three buildings totaling 48 units: Building A is a 36‑unit building with 34 one‑bedroom apartments plus two on‑site staff units (a resident manager and a recovery coach) intended for permanent supportive housing for people recovering from substance use disorder; Buildings B and C are two 6‑unit buildings with two‑ and three‑bedroom units for families in recovery. Hollander said, “This will be the first new construction supportive housing project in Kalamazoo in quite some time.”

The site is bounded by Portage Creek to the west, Reed Avenue to the north, Belfort Street to the east and Bryant Street to the south. The project team said a restrictive covenant area and a vegetated buffer run between the paved path and Portage Creek; they do not intend to perform work in that restrictive covenant area unless state environmental regulators require it. The applicant noted the site previously housed Performance Paper Mill and underwent federal Superfund cleanup; remaining environmental work is being coordinated with EGLE as part of final approvals.

The board discussed tree preservation and the landscape plan. The applicant said the three special‑interest trees proposed for removal are silver maples in poor condition and that replacement trees approved under the NFP ordinance are shown in the plan set. The applicant and the landscape architect, Paul Warnock of Abbot Marsh, agreed to substitute native alternatives for three plantings identified as non‑native (summer sweet, birchleaf spirea and inkberry) and to work with the board on acceptable replacements.

A motion to approve “the site plan for the 1900 Belfort Street project, with the removal of the nonnative species and conditional upon approval from the stormwater engineer” was made, seconded and passed by roll call. Board members Martin, Bassett and Roe voted yes; the applicant Matt Hollander recused from the vote. The motion passed with a 3‑0 roll call tally.

The board noted the project remains subject to final site plan review steps outside NFP, including the separate city site plan process and EGLE approvals for remaining remediation controls. The board also recorded that the applicant intends to pave an existing crushed‑gravel walking path to connect to the Portage Bicentennial Trail and to incorporate stormwater retention features and soil erosion controls such as silt fencing and tree protection during construction.

The board’s approval covers natural features issues raised under the NFP overlay but is explicitly conditional on the stormwater engineer’s sign‑off and on the agreed changes to the landscape plan.