Governor Gretchen Whitmer will turn the ceremonial first shovel of soil for the new Multi-Family Housing Development on Riverview Drive in Benton Harbor. Whitmer is coming to town Tuesday morning, August 3 to help Whirlpool, the City of Benton Harbor, Berrien County and Cornerstone Alliance break ground for the project. The event is being organized by the Southwest Michigan Regional Chamber of Commerce.
The 80-unit, four-story development will be built on Riverview Drive, North of Main Street, across from the Whirlpool Benton Harbor Tech Center. Historically, it’s the site of the old Transworld car dealership and has been vacant for decades.
City officials are excited about the project, which would add more residential units within the city than have been built in many years. The April announcement said rental rates would be “at market”, from $1075 to $1400 per month. And while the apartments would be attractive to Whirlpool employees working in the nearby Benton Harbor and Riverview corporate campuses, a diverse cross section of city residents would be sought as tenants. Officials said specifically that out-of-town weekend tourists would not be the target market for the project, located along the Paw Paw River.
It’s not clear what role the Governor has played thus far in the project. The announcement of her visit came from Whirlpool’s corporate communications office.
