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Community Updates, News Stories, Best Practices, Resources, and other data supporting the development of affordable housing for the citizens of Wisconsin in every city and region in the State. Please consider partnering with us and sharing your story

Grants are also available to support housing in mixed-use buildings.

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Ken Notes: We need a series of solutions to create affordable Workforce Housing, and this is a great one!

Tiny Houses for Homeless Veterans | Veterans Community Project

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Ken Notes: I hope we create some pride in ownership, and this is a huge success. Imagine if one of our service benefits were housing (when needed) for life! The key to success here is design, design, design! Also, the shared amenities and open spaces are key. We need to start building neighborhoods and communities, not "shelters".

MADISON, Wisc. – The Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA) announced today that Shreedhar Ranabhat will transition to a business development role within Commercial Lending, a newly created position in the organization. The commercial lending team focuses on deploying capital and resources to finance multifamily affordable housing and business development projects throughout Wisconsin.

“We see a great opportunity for Shreedhar to continue tackling the housing crisis in this new position that brings all his relationships and experience to bear,” said WHEDA CEO Elmer Moore, Jr.

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Ken Notes: As a planner and advisor to developers, it is often difficult to align the available resources from WHEDA with the actual needs of a community.

A $2.5 million investment in federal funds will help expand housing options for seniors and families as part of the Greenfield Affordable Housing Project, officials announced Thursday.

Layton Preserve, 9890 W. Chapman Ave., will be a 45-unit community that will include a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom townhouse units. It will feature 38 senior units and seven family units, as well as an on-site fitness center and a clubroom with a kitchen...

"To see this happening not only here but all across Milwaukee County, for me, is just showing that not only are we giving people greater access, but we`re starting to see more communities actually understand the need for more affordable housing," County Executive David Crowley said.

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Leonardo Silva Architecture Notes:Senior and affordable housing focus coming to fruition in Greenfield.

Ken Notes:Leonardo Silva is a friend with a serious interest in affordable housing in Wisconsin. Check out his website HERE!

Provisions to potentially increase the flexibility of housing options in the city of Medford met with pushback from a local builder concerned with reducing standards and potentially negatively impacting property values.

John Mueller spoke with members of the city’s planning commission on Monday about his concern with the potential of the city to allow manufactured housing to be placed in general residential districts.

Currently, manufactured homes in the city are restricted to being placed in either in Mink Capital Terrace or Riverview mobile home communities.

With the change in style and manufacturing techniques for these types of homes, the city is considering loosening the restrictions to provide an opportunity for lower-cost housing options for entry level homeowners as well as those looking to downsize later in life.

Mueller said he became aware of the city’s discussions through coverage in The Star News and given his background in building wanted to share his insight into the issue. He said the median income is Wisconsin is $64,000 which working through standard housing formulas, would make homes in the $200,000 range affordable with mortgage payments of about $1,600 per month. According to federal statistics, the median household income in the city of Medford is $53,173 per year and the median individual income is $35,29, which impacts affordability formulas....   ...Full Story Here

Ken Notes: We need developers who are building neighborhoods. I`ll bet John eats at local restaurants, drinks local coffee, buys local gas, shops local stores yet he does not want the very people who are taking care of him to live near him. This is a problem! John should be BUILDING the sub 200K units to earn the right to build the 500K+ units...

Madison Madness!!!

It`s that time of year again and the City of Madison is getting into the spirit with a new way for residents to share their perspectives. The “Madison Madness” bracket takes aspects of future planning – like housing, neighborhood amenities, transportation, and recreation – and puts them into a bracket format, allowing residents to think about their priorities and share them with the City in a fun and unique way.

Fill out your bracket and tell us your perspectives!

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Ken Notes: A very cool idea. You pick what is most important to you, my concern is those that need and use the services will non be playing the game. We are often guilty of building what we may want not what our service workers may need.

Kahya Fox, executive director of Habitat For Humanity of the Greater La Crosse Region, in the WIZM studio Thursday for La Crosse Talk discussing all things housing, as they get set for the Women Build Program this weekend, plus the first-ever housing week, preceded by Neighbor’s Day next month.

We also discussed Habitat’s first-time homebuyers program, which just led to a discussion about housing in general and the dilemmas that La Crosse — and everywhere — are facing...

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Ken Notes: Great read on affordable VS. Affordable or market rate vs. government subsidized. If you run into a "paywall" try opening the article in a Private Window.

Community Connections to Prosperity holds quarterly events under one roof to provide clothing, food, housing assistance and more

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Ken Notes: What a great idea! Every County or Region should have all the housing professionals meet once every quarter. Invite WHEDA, WEDC, USDA, and others. Read the article, you will be impressed with the ideas they a=have come up with!

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Ken Notes: My housing studies have all shown few if any are leaving there affordable homes because there is now where to go even if they want to...

The Wausau Economic Development Committee on Tuesday approved proposals to advance affordable housing efforts in the city, including a partnership with Habitat for Humanity to build a modular home on Jefferson Street.

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Notes: Public and private partnerships are helping to bring affordable, infill housing in Wausau and elsewhere.

A developer that has done several low-income housing projects in the Madison area is looking to build apartments at an East Washington Avenue site five blocks from Capitol Square that has long been occupied by Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce.
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Ken Notes: At least one of these new developments should include a resource facility providing mail boxes, day work space, computer access, classrooms, laundry, offices for voluntary health and mental health assistance, clean STAFFED restrooms, exercise equipment and showers. Like the Beacon, this facility could be available to the under-housed as well as homeless...

BELOIT, Wis. — Family Services of Southern Wisconsin is transforming the former Royce Elementary School in Beloit into apartments and a community space for families in need, called Next Steps Family Resilience Center.

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Rising home prices and mortgage rates are pricing out first-time buyers in Racine, with affordability at historic lows despite strong demand.

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ENABLING BETTER PLACES: A USER’S GUIDE TO WISCONSIN NEIGHBORHOOD AFFORDABILITY	WHEDA’s Rural Affordable Workforce Housing Initiative	Wisconsin REALTORS® Association
WISCAP Affordable Housing Network	Division of Energy, Housing and Community Resources	Housing Authority City of Milwaukee (HACM)
Wisconsin Housing Preservation Corp	WEDA Legislative Tracker	NRA Housing Needs By State / Wisconsin

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Nate Notes: to be included as a Workforce Housing resource email us a link and a brief note to: wwhnews.com@gmail.com...

In the fall of 2017, the city of River Falls hired Maxfield Research and Consulting to complete a comprehensive housing needs analysis.

The data included demographics, employment, housing characteristics and affordability, and for sale, rental, senior, and special needs markets. The study projects out to 2030. However, the City updated the housing needs analysis in 2022 to better understand the further changes in the housing market.

“I think we thought it was a good idea for us to get some, some specific market data to try to understand what we could do, or at least what was happening in the market. Maybe some projections were trying to understand what things might be occurring going forward in the future,” said Scot Simpson, the City Administrator...   ...Full Story Here

Leonardo Silva Architecture Notes: Great zoning reforms were made that will help solve housing issues highlighted in their housing study.

A memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the City of Sturgeon Bay and the Milwaukee-based Spoerl Commercial to construct an affordable housing apartment development at North 14th Avenue and Georgia Street was approved Tuesday by the Common Council.

Developer Brian Spoerl, who plans to construct three, three-story apartment buildings totaling up to 59 units in two phases, sought the MOU for the first phase, to be known as “The Avenue,” which will consist of 39 units in two buildings on the south end of the site.

Spoerl said the first phase was changed from 38 to 39 units by replacing a three-bedroom unit that had been planned with two, one-bedroom units.

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Ken Notes: Several could impact housing...

While many municipalities throw up roadblocks, Brown County village welcomes increased supply of homes

Unlike many places in Wisconsin, there is no housing crisis in the Village of Hobart because its leaders have done something developers say is exceedingly rare — making it as easy and predictable as possible for them to do business there.


With approximately 11,000 residents, Hobart is one of the fastest growing communities in one of the fastest growing counties, Brown, in the state.

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Drilling down further, according to the Census Bureau, the median family income of families in the city of Beloit grew from $55,442 in 2020 to $59,975 in 2023, an 8.1% increase. At the same time, the median sale price of homes in Rock County soared from $185,000 at the end of 2020 to $250,000 at the end of 2023, a 35% jump. The median sale price of homes at the end of 2024 jumped again to $269,950....

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Ken Notes: I like these projects but have to note that the cost of remodeling nonresidential properties can be more that building from scratch...

GREEN BAY, Wis. — As of March, Sebastian Kravick and his sister now call the City Center Lofts in downtown Green Bay their home.

“I get to walk to work because it’s only a couple minutes away. My sister as well works right downtown so we’re both right here,” said Kravick...

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Development to help city meet goal of creating 15,000 new homes by 2030, with 25% offering long-term affordability

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ONEIDA COUNTY – The Oneida County Economic Development Corporation (OCEDC), in collaboration with the North Central Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission (NCWRPC), is conducting a comprehensive study to address growing concerns over housing affordability and availability in the county.

A release from OCEDC said it is seeking input from the public and local employers to “ensure a comprehensive analysis.”

“Community members are encouraged to complete the housing survey, which will play a crucial role in shaping the study’s recommendations,” OCEDC stated.

The survey will be available online at www.surveymonkey.com/r/GGXF6RN through Friday, April 11, and results will be published in May...

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GREEN BAY (NBC 26) — The Greater Green Bay Habitat for Humanity is marking its 40th anniversary by teaming up with all 32 Wisconsin chapters to address the state`s affordable housing crisis. Their goal: to build faster, smarter, and stronger—both in Green Bay and across Wisconsin.

“The housing crisis is so big that it`s pushing us to the forefront of trying to find ways to solve it,” said Jessica Diederich, CEO of Greater Green Bay Habitat for Humanity....

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MONROE — Green County Development Corporation (GCDC) is excited to announce the launch of the Housing Development Fund, a groundbreaking initiative designed to address the county’s housing needs by incentivizing new residential development. Backed by $2.8 million in funding from six local partners, this program will provide low-interest loans to developers, encouraging the construction of new homes across Green County.

Fueled by the 2024 Housing Study conducted by Southwest Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission, and multiple community housing forums hosted by GCDC and Green County Healthy Community Coalition (GCHCC), efforts were targeted to bring affordable, single and multi-family homes to the county. The 2024 study indicated a need for over 1,700 homes to be built before 2030 to support growth in the area.

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DENVER (AP) — As Americans struggle under backbreaking rental prices, builders are turning to innovative ways to churn out more housing, from 3D printing to assembling homes in an indoor factory to using hemp — yes, the marijuana cousin — to make building blocks for walls.

It’s a response to the country’s shortfall of millions of homes that has led to skyrocketing prices, plunging millions into poverty.

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Ken Notes: We need to develop neighborhoods with smaller affordable homes in the mix. We do not want trailer parks we want a community...

Across Wisconsin many employees can simply not afford to live where they work.

This is true in big cities and small rural communities. Both the availability and price of housing is not in line with the needs of those working in jobs that are vital to the success of our communities. Imagine a firefighter, teacher, city employee, service, or retail worker not able to afford a home in the community they serve.

We believe Wisconsin employers will support these efforts so they can successfully recruit workers to fill the thousands of job openings now hampered by a shortage of affordable housing.


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WWHNEWS Notes: To add a resource or correct above send data and link to wwhnews.com[at]gmail.com...