CPC Mortgage Company, a subsidiary of The Community Preservation Corporation, has structured an $8.018 million permanent loan for Riverbend at Capital, a new affordable and workforce housing development planned in Battle Creek, Michigan. The financing supports a to-be-built community that will deliver 80 apartments targeted to residents in the local workforce and households needing affordable housing options.
The project, led by developer Edison Community Partners, will rise on a long-vacant former Kmart site at 10 W. Fountain Street near the Kalamazoo River and downtown Battle Creek. The approximately $30.2 million development is designed as a mixed-use community anchored by a four-story residential building. Plans call for a mix of one- and two-bedroom units, together with a multipurpose community center intended to serve residents and the surrounding neighborhood.
CPC Mortgage Company is providing the permanent financing through a Freddie Mac 9% LIHTC Unfunded Forward loan, with Cinnaire facilitating the execution. The capital stack also includes support from the Michigan State Housing Development Authority, reflecting the public-private approach often required to advance new affordable and workforce housing in smaller markets.
Construction of Riverbend at Capital is expected to advance over the next several years, with project completion targeted for 2027. Once delivered, the community will bring new residential density and resident-serving space to a site that has remained underutilized for an extended period, repositioning a former big-box retail parcel into a housing-focused use.
Riverbend at Capital represents the first phase in a broader redevelopment vision for the roughly 10-acre property. Future phases are anticipated to add more mixed-income housing alongside retail and small-scale commercial space, extending the site’s transition from a single-use retail location into a more diverse mixed-use district. While detailed plans for subsequent phases have not yet been specified, the initial phase establishes the framework for continued reinvestment at the former Kmart site.
By combining Freddie Mac LIHTC forward financing, support from a state housing agency, and a mission-driven capital provider, the transaction illustrates how multiple stakeholders are coordinating to deliver new affordable and workforce housing in Battle Creek. The repositioning of a vacant retail property into a mixed-use residential community also aligns with ongoing efforts in many markets to convert obsolete or underutilized commercial sites into housing and neighborhood-serving uses.
