Making Progress on Humanity Street Neighborhood Development: April Construction Update

We’re continuing to make steady progress on the Humanity Street neighborhood development, with major site work completed over the past month.

Site preparation and early progress

With a target completion date of August, we began work quickly, starting earthwork early last month.

We removed topsoil, trees, and sections of sidewalk around the site to prepare for the installation of necessary underground utilities to support the Humanity Street neighborhood development. 

The sidewalk will be replaced and improved, including full connectivity along Shreeve and Dauer Streets, including additional connections to the extension of Grant Lane and the new Humanity Street. A temporary silt fence is in place to reduce dust and debris impacts to nearby homes, and as much topsoil as possible has been preserved for later use.

Infrastructure and stormwater improvements

Once the site was fully prepared, we began installing the detention basin and improving the slope on the south side of the development to help prevent runoff from impacting neighboring properties. The detention basin is designed to hold excess water from heavy rainfall, so that it can be slowly drained into the City’s stormwater infrastructure without overwhelming it. Within the basin, an inlet pipe connects to a new storm sewer under the future extension of Grant Lane, allowing water to move safely through the system.

Utilities and coordination with the City

We also installed new water and sanitary sewer mains along the extension of Grant Lane and what will be the new Humanity Street. This work included the addition of service leads for the new homes that will be built along these future streets.

As planned, the City prioritized moving the water service for one of our neighbors to their property line at the same time, coordinating their work with our development to minimize disruption. Moving the water line creates long-term sustainability for both the homeowner and the development, and we are incredibly grateful to our neighbor for partnering with us on this solution!

Looking ahead

We are encouraged by the progress. Standing at the end of Grant Lane, you can now begin to see how it will connect to Dauer Street, as well as where the new Humanity Street will run. Together, these elements start to outline how the development will integrate with the existing neighborhood, and where the new Alden B. Dow Habitat home sites will take shape.

Looking ahead to this coming month, we expect to complete all sanitary sewer, water, and stormwater mains and service connections along the new extension of Grant Lane, the new Humanity Street, and along Dauer St.

As with all local Habitat projects, we remain committed to keeping neighbors and community partners informed and to reducing disruptions as much as possible throughout construction.

If you have questions or concerns, please reach out to Andrew Koehlinger at communitybuild@midlandhabitat.org.