The new president of Cornerstone Alliance is setting her sights on the housing shortage in Berrien County.

Marla Schneider just came to the organization last month from Greater Muskegon Economic Development. She tells us she’s been meeting with the representatives of municipalities throughout the county and found the biggest issue they face is housing. She has a proposal.

“To me, first order of business is we need a countywide housing study,” Schneider said. “And there is data out there that is public right now for the county, and it is great data. I also think we need some supplemental reporting done and data collecting done that we can get into each community and dig down a little bit deeper to see what their individual needs are.”

Schneider says a study on housing, involving several community partners, was done when she was in Muskegon. She says once a study is done in Berrien County, the partners can work on developing a strategy to increase housing development. Perhaps there are incentives they can pursue.

“MSHDA is a big mystery at this moment, which is the Michigan Housing Authority. So they provide incentives, really digging into that.”

Schneider says a housing study could get a comprehensive picture of each municipality’s needs.

In 2021, the Michigan’s Great Southwest Strategic Leadership Council released an analysis of available housing in Berrien County. It found there was an undersupply of housing for most incomes, it wasn’t profitable to build affordable housing, the construction industry was facing a labor shortage, and construction materials were getting too expensive.