Build UP, Intermediate School Districts Form Partnership to Address Housing Crisis and Workforce Development in UP

UPPER MICHIGAN (WLUC) – An economic development organization is using its housing development fund to address the housing crisis in the Upper Peninsula.

A lack of affordable housing is the “top challenge” facing the Upper Peninsula, according to a survey commissioned by InvestUP. The lack of affordable housing not only increases the cost of housing, but also hinders economic growth, including the ability to attract and retain workers.

InvestUP’s housing development fund, Build UP, is working to address this problem through cash deposit and residential infrastructure lending programs. However, Build UP has now added a new program, the Career and Technical Education Partnership Program, which addresses this problem in a new and creative way by partnering with local intermediate school districts (ISDs) to address the regional shortage of skilled workers needed to build new homes , while adding new housing to the market.

This is stated in the InvestUP press release. With a $1 million investment from Build UP, the partnership will support career and technical education (CTE) programs in Delta Schoolcraft ISD and Copper Country ISD. It is also expected that an agreement will be signed with the Eastern UP ISD in the near future.

In total, students will build six new homes in five communities. Construction on homes in Escanaba and Houghton is expected to begin this fall, while construction on homes in Cedarville, L’Anse and Manistique is expected to begin next year.

The partnership between Build UP and ISDs essentially harkens back to the past, when local skilled trades programs had the resources to build a home that was then sold publicly once students completed construction. In recent years, tight budgets have prevented local schools from providing students with this important experience. Instead, they were usually able to get students to build only some of the components of the house on the school grounds.

Build UP will increase the cost of materials and supplies needed to give students the opportunity to gain real-world, hands-on experience building new homes in their community. Once completed, the homes will be sold and the costs that Build UP advanced for materials and supplies will return to the program so that it can support itself while allowing the schools to retain the remainder of the proceeds from the sale and in turn strengthen their CTE programs . .

Build UP CEO Marty Fittante says the partnership is truly a win-win for the region, the schools and, most importantly, the students.

Participating ISDs shared their excitement about this partnership, including the valuable real-life experience students will gain in residential construction, how this sets the stage for long-term growth of school construction trades programs and what this means for community growth .

Delta-Schoolcraft ISD Superintendent Doug Leisenring said, “Delta-Schoolcraft ISD values ​​its partnership with Build UP. Our construction trades programs strive to engage in hands-on learning in a real-life workplace rather than traditional classroom settings. This innovative partnership provides our students with a more effective learning environment, better exposing them to diverse career opportunities in the construction trades after high school.”

As a builder for Moyle Construction and a member of the Copper Country ISD Advisory Committee, Andy Moyle has a unique role in evaluating partnership opportunities.

“As a developer and builder, our project portfolio is designed for 12-24 months. Due to the lack of talent in the professions, projects are delayed for years or simply never come to fruition. This means less community development, fewer opportunities for business expansion, and fewer job opportunities. It would be very helpful to balance the supply and demand of skilled trades. Programs like CTE homes will help address the long-term skills shortage crisis,” Moyle said.

State policymakers have also offered support for the initiative, recognizing it as a model for meeting community needs through public-private partnerships.

State Senator Ed McBroom applauded the partnership, saying, “I am pleased to see this creative and timely collaboration. UP leaders have a long-standing reputation for working together to achieve a variety of goals as effectively as possible, and this partnership shows that commitment, especially to students, is alive and well.”

John Damose, State Senator for the 37th District, also expressed his appreciation for this collaborative and creative approach: “After years of stagnation in the skilled trades industries, the state is now experiencing a resurgence as a result of initiatives like these. As we look to build more homes, train more students and stimulate manufacturing, these types of programs will play an important role in getting students interested in a variety of careers and skill sets.”

Speaking about the state funding InvestUP received to support Build UP, Damuz, R-Harbor Springs, continued, “This is exactly the type of use that policymakers envisioned with this funding, and I appreciate this creative approach that gives students real-world experience and helps differentiate and strengthen the professions in Michigan.”

While the initial focus is on building six homes, the Build UP CTE partnership program is expected to scale to extend well beyond this first phase to other ISDs throughout the region. According to Fittante, “Today’s announcement is just the first step as we see a sustainable solution within the UP through this program to address two of the most pressing issues facing the region – housing and skilled labor shortages. In fact, other ISDs have already expressed interest in this partnership. So there will be even more soon!”

For more information about the Career and Technical Education Partnership Program and other Build UP initiatives, visit http://investupmi.com/.

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