Residents and community partners comment on Lansing’s ‘ModPod’ project

After several delays, adjustments and community meetings, developers of Lansing’s NOVA Housing Initiative (ModPods) shared with residents last week what project leader Kim Coleman called a transparent update.

Coleman was formerly the city’s director of Human Relations and Community Services and after retiring she now works as a consultant on the project, which is an attempt to provide transitional shelter to unhoused individuals in the city as they work toward housing. The project was launched a year ago while the city was facing criticism of its handling of outdoor encampments of people experiencing homelessness.

The timeline for breaking ground on the project, a year later, remains murky and the city is approaching the second winter with the ModPods being kept in storage instead of being used.

The project recently cleared a difficult hurdle of finding someone willing to take the construction management job, after two unsuccessful hiring rounds.

Robert LaLonde, president of Clark Construction Company, said there’s not a standard building code for the project, forcing the construction company to look at “doing it under a different kind of campground code.”

Much of it is riding on the submission of the design plan. “There’s a big push to get the design far enough along that we can get those in for review,” said Chris Martin. Martin is a project manager with Clark Construction Company.

“Then that kind of starts the clock ticking on when we can break ground,” he said.

Other questions surrounding the types of resources available to community residents and the guidelines they have to follow were met with less than detailed answers.

“As the operating agency, we have program guidelines,” Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries Chief Program Officer Japheth Agboka said. “As we are meeting and getting the program running, we have avenues for client input, client feedback … there’s always the ability to tweak if needed.”

While there’s not a solid estimate on when construction will start, officials have set up a sample pod for display at Lansing City Hall. The pod is available for viewing through the end of the month. 

Lansing resident Alison Peeler asked about shower capacity.

“So let’s say half the people,” she said, “33 people need to get to work all at the same time, and [there are] six showers.”

Peeler’s question was one of many at the community meeting for Lansing’s NOVA Housing Initiative on Tuesday at Foster Community Center.

“Within this program model, it’s all about scheduling,” Agboka said, responding to Peeler’s question, giving similar answers to other questions. “As it relates to shower times, there will be scheduled shower times for individuals.”

City officials announced in July that the organization would take over the day-to-day operations and case management of the community.

“As we are operating the program, we will work on those things to make sure that everybody is able to use the bathroom and take showers,” Agboka said.

The pods, set to be built in the southwest corner of the Ingham County Health and Human Services parking lot, will have an occupancy maximum of 66 people, broken down into 14 double pods and 36 singles. 

As it stands, the annual cost of daily maintenance of the pods is $952,335. The city set aside about $1.9 million for site preparation and construction. 

Questions remain around funding sources and the potential burden on taxpayers. 

“What’s the city’s long-term commitment to this economically?” a resident asked. “Is this all grant writing for the next 15 years?”

Coleman said similar programs rely on a mix of private, public, and federal funding, and the city’s initiative will “be doing the same.”

“I can’t make a commitment for the city with regard to longevity,” she said. 

Dana Watson with the county’s health department brought up concerns about the traffic surrounding the community. “This is the Jolly intersection where there’s a lot of traffic and people’s ability to walk across the street is important,” she said.

LaLonde, of Clark Construction Company, said a traffic study to address those issues is part of the permitting process, which is still in the early stages. The company is serving as the general contractor for the project.