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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

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Leo's notes: Households unable to buy remain renters, moderate-income workers compete for limited apartments, and newly constructed ‘starter homes’ can now cost $400,000 or more - a pattern all too familiar throughout the state. Green Bay and Appleton are pursuing zoning and development reforms, but the scale of projected demand shows that Wisconsin also needs tools that directly address construction costs and financing gaps. Workforce housing policy ultimately has to make substantially more homes financially feasible to build.

Ken Notes: We run this story way to often with very few solutions. The new Housing TIF may make a difference see state info and our take below. Leo and I are available to talk with your board on this topic...

The City of Eau Claire believes that local government is a stewardship, helping citizens meet their needs and helping the community solve problems. We cannot always do this on our own; we need and value partners who can help. The City also believes in equity, creating conditions for all people to thrive.

There is no more fundamental need than housing that is affordable.

The City of Eau Claire is seeking proposals for projects that develop or rehabilitate properties for new or expanded affordable housing within the City of Eau Claire and to provide said project(s) with financial assistance through the City of Eau Claire Affordable Housing Fund. 

Full details related to this request for proposals can be found in the attached document, which is also available on the City of Eau Claire website: 

https://www.eauclairewi.gov/286/Housing-Opportunities-Commission

Education sessions will be held on the following dates:...

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Leo's notes: By putting public resources and sites into play through a competitive process, cities like Eau Claire can reduce some of the uncertainty and upfront barriers that frequently prevent needed housing projects from advancing. We hope to see more municipalities take on the same approach to incentivizing development...

A study from UW-Oshkosh found local zoning changes seem to be “a necessary but insufficient condition” for expanding workforce housing. 

The report was issued earlier this summer by the university’s Whitburn Center for Governance and Policy Research. It makes the case that “zoning reform” as well as engaging with public-private partnerships and state government programs are key to expanding workforce housing options. 

While zoning changes to allow developers more flexibility have helped create an “enabling environment” for housing expansion, authors say the success of such policies depend on other factors such as developer interest, financing and intergovernmental collaboration. 

READ THE REPORT HERE!

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Leo's notes: The report’s proposed state-local partnership may be the more consequential takeaway. Pairing zoning reform with technical assistance, municipal incentives and coordinated financing could give smaller communities the capacity to actually use the housing tools Wisconsin...

Ken Notes: Leo and I have been advocating for a full team approach to taking on this problem for a while, from State and Local governments, to local builders and developers, to the dozens of organizations administering private, State, Local, and Federal funding - EVERYONE needs to sit down and focus on housing solution that bring our employees back to the ownership fold for workforce housing. OWNERSHIP is the key moving forward, we know how to build apartments, we know how to build 500K homes, we know how to make money, BUT we do not know how to bring our service, retail, and entry level workers into the home ownership market that will allow our economy to continue to thrive. We need entry level affordable housing for our workforce.

The phrase "modular homes" may conjure up a boxy, barebones structure—or worse yet, a classic trailer park community filled with cookie-cutter mobile homes of dubious quality.

But Scott Malouff, a longtime agent with Keller Williams in San Antonio and the head of KW's new Modular initiative, wants to change that perception.

Malouff has been in real estate for over a decade and after a recent month-long trip to Asia, his eyes opened to the benefits of modular housing.

Currently, only around 4% of U.S. housing is modular construction, compared with 15% in Japan.

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Ken Notes: This publication has been advocating for this for quite a while not. Today's modular is not the aging mobile home parks of a few decades ago. We could build truly affordable home that appreciate in value and fit into our communities and neighborhoods of tomorrow. I also think we should look at hybrid models where hvac, electric, and plumbing are dropped on site and a home is built around them. The Boldt Company (Boldt) and its sister company, Bildt, a prefabrication and modular supplier are doing this for commercial now, Specifically hospital bathrooms.

Advocates say high housing costs are making it harder to purchase a first home, afford rent

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Leo's notes: Northeast Wisconsin’s numbers show how quickly a historically attainable housing market can become unaffordable when production fails to keep pace with demand. Zoning reform and faster approvals are important, but this article reinforces the need for significantly more production— ownership, missing-middle and entry-level housing—if the region wants its strong economy to remain accessible to the workforce supporting it...

Nursing homes and home health agencies in Wisconsin have had to scrap plans years in the making to hire workers from overseas, after the Trump administration suspended almost all refugee programs.

One nursing home operator in Sparta invested more than $100,000 in building apartments to house overseas workers – when policy changed, the housing was used for current workers, according to a report in Wisconsin Watch.

“International recruitment is a multi-year strategy, and it doesn’t happen overnight,” Kate Battiato, VP of media and community impact for LeadingAge Wisconsin, told Wisconsin Watch. “One election can change the strategy that has been built over years. … It makes their already difficult challenges recruiting and retaining workers more difficult."...

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Leo's notes: For rural communities, employer-supported housing can be an important recruitment tool, particularly where rental options are scarce. But this experience also illustrates the risk employers assume when they step into housing themselves. Workforce housing strategies work best as part of a broader ecosystem—stable labor pipelines, community housing production and partnerships that leave new homes useful even as employer’s staffing changes occur.

Ken Notes: Wisconsin will be significantly impacted by the elimination or reduction of immigrant programs. The dairy, meat, tourism, health care, and many other industries have relied heavily on foreign labor. This will also impact the housing market. We need to work on programs to improve the immigration workforce - not send them back.

Access to safe, stable and affordable housing plays a critical role in overall health and well-being. That's why SSM Health recently joined Madison Development Corporation (MDC) and community partners to celebrate the opening of The Bankston Apartments, a new workforce housing development in downtown Madison, Wisconsin.

Located at 429 W. Mifflin St., The Bankston Apartments brings 40 new housing units to Madison's downtown area, including 30 apartments reserved for households earning at or below 80% of Dane County's Area Median Income. The development was made possible through a partnership among MDC, SSM Health, Lake Ridge Bank and the Dane Workforce Housing Fund II...

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Leo's notes: SSM Health’s investment in Madison’s Bankston Apartments demonstrates the important evolution of moving beyond advocacy and into direct capital investment. The 40-unit downtown development includes 30 apartments reserved for households at or below 80% of Dane County AMI and has particularly relevancy for Wisconsin’s major employers. Housing shortages affect recruitment, retention and community health, and impact investing gives employers another tool to help close financing gaps without becoming housing developers themselves.

On July 11, the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act (the Act) became law after President Trump declined to sign or veto the bill. The legislation is intended to increase the housing supply and improve housing affordability through a variety of reforms. Although the Act has many components, here are a few major changes that could affect the affordable housing and tax credit industry.

• Changes to Environmental Review Requirements...
• Changes to CDBG Funding...
  
• Changes for Planning Activities...
• Changes Still Possible, Elusive for BABA...
• Changes to Section 3 (Procurement) Requirements...

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Leo's notes: As we’ve mentioned these last few weeks, the opportunity now is to translate federal reform into local production. The law will not solve high land, infrastructure and construction costs on its own, but reducing regulatory barriers and rewarding communities that actually add housing moves federal policy in the right direction: toward making it easier and less expensive to build the homes Wisconsin’s workforce needs...

North 14th Avenue south of Georgia Street was lined up with vehicles late in the morning of Sept. 9 when a formal groundbreaking ceremony took place for The Avenue, a new affordable housing development being built southwest of the intersection.  

Developer Brian Spoerl of Spoerl Commercial has started excavation work on the first phase, a three-story, 39-unit apartment building. The project received low-income housing tax credits (LIHTC) from the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA), and the city approved a development agreement that provides tax-increment financing incentives through Tax Incremental District (TID) #6.

Spoerl, who was able to purchase a city-owned lot for $100 as part of the building site, thanked Sturgeon Bay officials for their efforts in making the project possible...

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Leo's notes: In a market shaped by tourism, seasonal demand and high housing costs, adding year-round rental options is critical to ensuring that the people who sustain local businesses and services can also live in the communities where they work. Next step is to create affordable homes for purchasing.

Ascension Wisconsin is exploring whether the historic St. Mary’s Hospital building on Milwaukee’s East Side could be converted into affordable apartments.

Built in 1910 and now known as the Heritage Center, the building at 2320 N. Lake Drive is now used primarily for administrative purposes and is largely vacant, according to Ascension.

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Leo's notes: Former hospitals can be difficult and expensive to redevelop, but their scale, established infrastructure and location within existing neighborhoods can also make them unusually valuable housing opportunities. The larger lesson is to look beyond vacant lots when identifying future workforce housing sites. Hospitals, schools, churches and other underused institutional properties can provide substantial infill opportunities—and early partnerships among property owners, municipalities and housing developers can help ensure these sites remain community assets rather than long-term vacancies...

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin’s high prices and lack of homes for sale looks to have finally cut sales off at the knees.

The latest Wisconsin Realtors Report shows another jump in prices and a record low number of home sales.

"Existing home sales fell 8.3% in August compared to statewide closings in August 2025, reversing the upward trend in sales for June and July. This was due in part to record-low affordability in the state. Tight inventories continued to put strong upward pressure on home prices. The median price rose to $362,000, which is a 7.1% increase over the past 12 months," the report states.

Wisconsin home sales drop 8.3% in August as affordability hits record low

Milwaukee employee buys first home through workplace grant program

Condo production continues to lag in Wisconsin 

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Ken Notes: We need to shift to lower cost entry level homes that are more affordable to our service and retail workers...

EAU CLAIRE — As Eau Claire County is expected to grow in the coming years, one question is how public sector development will position the community in the future.

At an Eau Claire Area Chamber of Commerce forum, speakers and the audience were asked what the biggest housing need in the community is. Through a quick poll, a vast majority of audience members said they believe it is starter homes, and Eau Claire Community Development Director Aaron White agreed.

“Starter homes and affordable starter homes for an opportunity for that first-time homeownership is a real challenge in the community,” White said.

“We also need senior housing. We get a lot of inquiries from folks looking for 55-and-up type housing, wanting to downsize their home but not finding a place they can move to so they’re still living in a well oversized home that they don’t need anymore. And there’s just not enough of the homes for them to transition into in a reasonable way to make it effective or reasonable to do it.”

He also spoke to the challenge of building affordable housing in the Eau Claire area.


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Leo's notes: Eau Claire-area leaders are raising an increasingly important question: when private development cannot meet community needs on its own, how active should the public sector become? The goal should not necessarily be for government to replace private developers, but to use public resources strategically enough to make needed projects feasible. Communities willing to assemble sites, finance infrastructure, reduce development risk or participate directly in projects may be better positioned to produce housing the market is otherwise failing to deliver.

ENABLING BETTER PLACES: A USER’S GUIDE TO WISCONSIN NEIGHBORHOOD AFFORDABILITY	WHEDA’s Rural Affordable Workforce Housing Initiative	WWHNews Think Paper on New Housing TIF
WISCAP Affordable Housing Network	Division of Energy, Housing and Community Resources	Housing Authority City of Milwaukee (HACM)
Wisconsin Housing Preservation Corp	WEDA Legislative Tracker	Couleecap
Wisconsin Housing Alliance	Office of Rural Prosperity Wisconsin Economic Development	Tiny Timbers Neighborhood

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

VERONON COUNTY, Wis. – Vernon County is officially launching Driftless Bound, an innovative workforce attraction initiative offering up to $12,500 in cash relocation incentives to encourage working individuals and families from outside Wisconsin to move to the area and establish primary residency.

Funded through a $100,000 Talent Recruitment Grant from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation and a $25,000 local county match, the $125,000 program aims to recruit out of state households to bolster local employers, school districts, small businesses, and the county tax base...   ...Full Story Here

Leo's notes: Vernon County’s Driftless Bound program takes a direct approach to rural workforce recruitment, offering out-of-state working households up to $2,500 for rental costs or $12,500 toward purchasing or building a home; recognizing that the upfront cost of securing housing can itself be a barrier to recruiting workers into rural communities. Relocation incentives can help bring households to the door, but sustained workforce growth ultimately requires communities to pair recruitment programs with new housing production—particularly in rural markets where limited inventory may be the biggest barrier. Great outside-the-box approach worth following.

Good morning Ken,

The Tax Incremental Financing documents on the DOR TIF webpage are now updated with information about the new Residential TID category. You had asked to be notified when this occurred.

• TIF Manual
• Common questions-Residential TIDs
• Residential Creation

Thank you.

Tod Ericson
State and Local Finance Division
Wisconsin Department of Revenue
(608) 266-7750 x 3
tif@wisconsin.gov


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New complex adds 40 new workforce housing units to Madison’s downtown

September 03, 2026 12:00 PM - Madison, Wisconsin – Madison Development Corporation (MDC), SSM Health, Lake Ridge Bank, and community partners celebrated the grand opening of The Bankston Apartments with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on September 3, 2026.

Located at 429 W. Mifflin Street, The Bankston Apartments brings 40 new homes to downtown Madison, including 30 apartments reserved for households earning at or below 80% of Dane County's Area Median Income. The development was made possible through a collaborative partnership among MDC, SSM Health, Lake Ridge Bank, and the Dane Workforce Housing Fund II. SSM Health's investment in The Bankston Apartments is part of the organization's broader impact investment strategy, which supports initiatives that address the social drivers of health and strengthen community well-being...

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Leo's notes: The Bankston Apartments demonstrate how major employers can become active participants in solving the housing challenges affecting their workforce. When healthcare systems and other major employers treat attainable housing near jobs as workforce infrastructure—and invest accordingly—they can help projects move from concept to construction while strengthening employee recruitment, retention and community health. A win for all!

Ken Notes: The next step is homeownership!

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - The National Mall was transformed into a neighborhood this week featuring the next generation of home building and development for the sixth year in a row, as part of HUD’s “Innovative Housing Showcase.”

The exhibition, which began Tuesday and concluded Thursday, features a collection of mid-construction and fully assembled homes on the National Mall. Each home on display includes a new element or technology.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development puts on the annual event to highlight the latest advancements in affordable housing designs and technologies.

“The purpose of it, number one, is to showcase the brilliance of the American people,” said HUD Secretary Scott Turner...

The WEBSITE for the event is here...

See Also:

Cavco Unveils Grande Arbor, First HUD-Code Manufactured Home Built Without a Steel Chassis, at 2026 Innovative Housing Showcase

Cavco introduces a chassis-free HUD-code home with a multigenerational floor plan, taking advantage of new federal rules to expand design options.

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Leo's notes: HUD’s Innovative Housing Showcase puts a welcome spotlight on manufactured, modular, component-based and other construction approaches that could reduce the time and cost required to produce housing. For Wisconsin, the bigger question is how to move these ideas from demonstration projects into ordinary subdivisions and infill sites.

Ken Notes: I have attended these in the past, and many innovative ideas have come from both the design and technology sides of this event. See the Cavco story for ideas...

Unity Lutheran Church's pastor says costly repairs and declining revenue are driving the proposal, while a longtime member and neighbor wants the community to help shape the church's future.

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Leo's notes: Unity Lutheran Church’s proposal to replace its aging Bay View facility with 55 workforce apartments and a smaller ministry space illustrates how declining congregations can turn underused institutional land into both housing and a sustainable future for their organizations. The concept specifically targets the increasingly squeezed middle of the market—workers such as teachers, nurses, police officers and firefighters—while a ground lease would provide the congregation with ongoing revenue. Established neighborhoods with churches and other institutional properties could become an increasingly important piece of Wisconsin’s infill and workforce housing strategy.

ABSTRACT

Act 235 created an entirely new kind of tax incremental district — one built for houses instead of factories. It takes effect October 1, 2026. This guide explains the rules in plain language, shows what a complying neighborhood actually looks like, and walks through the numbers so a village board can decide whether the tool fits.

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A former West Allis school to be converted to affordable apartments, and a controversial Shorewood housing project, would get federal grants through a plan pending before Milwaukee County officials.

The $5 million in funds are to help finance four developments that would construct or renovate 132 affordable apartments, including two Milwaukee projects...

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Leo's notes: The conversion of the former Longfellow Elementary School in West Allis would transform an existing public asset into 55 apartments—22 within the historic school and 33 in a new addition. Projects such as this one are a prime example of why communities should inventory obsolete schools, institutional buildings and other public properties alongside vacant land. Reusing existing sites can preserve neighborhood character and infrastructure while creating housing in established communities.

More than 350 rental units on Milwaukee's far northwest side are set to be converted from market-rate to affordable housing.

Affiliates of a California-based nonprofit bought the 236-unit St. James Place, 10300 W. Fountain Ave., and the 138-unit Arbor Ridge Apartments, 7960-7972 N. 107th St., for $60 million, a group representing seller Weidner Apartment Homes announced Sept. 22...

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Leo's notes: Wisconsin needs more income-restricted housing, but preservation strategies should also consider the full housing continuum: affordability gains are strongest when chocies are expanded without inadvertently squeezing the moderate-income households. They inherently also struggle to find housing options.

The City of Milwaukee has selected four development teams to build a new generation of affordable, owner-occupied housing on vacant city lots, nearly seven months after the city originally expected to announce the winners.

The Department of City Development announced Thursday that it is working with Community First, Moxie Development Collective, UniteWI and VIA CDC on its Revive Housing Development: Attached Housing Pilot Program.

The initiative is intended to produce about 20 new homes, including townhouses, duplexes and other forms of “missing middle” housing that fall between detached single-family homes and larger apartment buildings...

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Leo's notes: Milwaukee’s Revive Housing pilot will be deliberately testing whether townhouses, duplexes and other missing-middle ownership models can once again become repeatable products on the city’s standard vacant lots. Four local development teams will design models intended for replication, with roughly 20 homes initially targeted to households earning no more than 80% of area median income. Although there is an estimated $100,000 per unit subsidy amount available, the real value will be learning which designs, financing structures and development approaches can eventually make entry-level homeownership easier to reproduce at scale—not just in Milwaukee, but in communities across Wisconsin.

Redevelopment of former Jewish Home is a first-of-its-kind facility for Milwaukee.

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Leo's notes: Stable housing can reduce barriers to hospital discharge, homelessness services and longer-term recovery, making projects like this part of a community’s health and social-service infrastructure. The challenge is the financing complexity: needing 13 funding sources to deliver 31 homes underscores how difficult it remains to build innovative affordable housing even when the community value is clear.

WATERTOWN — A potential 24-unit multifamily residential development is being proposed next to Piggly Wiggly. 

4th Dimension Real Estate Developers LLC is requesting to rezone approximately 2.5 acres located at 1310 Memorial Drive to multifamily residential. The proposed development consists of three two-story buildings, each containing eight units. 

"The proposed concept plan incorporates three two-story residential buildings arranged around shared parking and open space areas," reads the developer's rezoning justification statement. "The development includes pedestrian walkways, landscaped areas, and a central parking configuration designed to provide safe circulation for residents and visitors." ...

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Leo's notes: A 24-unit development may not transform a regional housing shortage on its own, but replicating appropriately scaled multifamily projects throughout communities can steadily expand supply, make better use of existing infrastructure and provide workers with more choices close to jobs and everyday services. Projects at this scale are an important part of Wisconsin’s missing-middle conversation.

Ken Notes: Just a reminder, while we continue to see more and more affordable rental workforce housing, WE NEED more affordable home OWNERSHIP options!

PORTAGE, WIS. — Impact Seven, in partnership with Harmony Housing Partners, has selected McShane Construction Co. to build River Crossing, a 52-unit affordable housing community in Portage. Positioned on a 2-acre site at 2941 Hunters Trail, the development will consist of a podium-style building atop a one-level underground parking garage with 52 spaces. A portion of the units will accommodate adults with disabilities. Residents will have access to 13,000 square feet of amenities, including a community room, quiet lounge, media room, pet spa, fitness center and storage lockers. Completion is slated for October 2027. Continuum Architects + Planners is the architect, and General Engineering Co. is the civil engineer...

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Leo's notes: Projects like this reinforce why Wisconsin’s housing strategy cannot stop at Madison and Milwaukee. Regional employment centers and smaller communities need sustained affordable and workforce housing production as well, particularly developments that provide enough unit and bedroom diversity to serve workers, families and residents with specialized housing needs.

The Sturgeon Bay Common Council approved a development agreement on Sept. 15 for a housing and storage-unit project on 35.43 acres of city-owned property at 1259 Division Road in the newly created Tax Incremental District (TID) #12.

The agreement with Green Bay-area developer, Jim Conard, who is partnering with Paul Shefchik of PortSide Builders, includes approximately 30 workforce-housing lots, about 36 market-rate housing units consisting of single-family homes and duplexes, and 34 storage units with living spaces. 

The council approved a revised agreement that increases the maximum amount the city will repay the developer $2,753,393, an increase of $186,690. The repayment will be based on 90% of the tax increment generated from the project, beginning with the 2029 tax year...

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Leo's notes: Sturgeon Bay’s revised TID 12 agreement demonstrates how tax increment financing can be used not simply to support development, but to intentionally shape the housing that gets built. The planned mix of single-family and duplex lots—including homes designated for workforce housing—creates an opportunity to expand attainable ownership while using public investment to overcome the infrastructure costs that often make new subdivisions difficult to finance. Great example of utilizing newly drafted residential TIF law for neighborhood development.

STURGEON BAY (WLUK) -- A development will provide more affordable housing options to Door County residents.

Officials broke ground Wednesday on the first phase of The Avenue in Sturgeon Bay on 14th Avenue between Georgia Street and Iowa Drive, near the NWTC Sturgeon Bay campus.

The groundbreaking took place after three years of planning by the city, the developer among others.

"Projects like this strengthen neighborhoods, support local employers and help communities remain places where people of all ages and income levels can work and succeed," Lydia Van Thiel of WHEDA said...

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Leo's notes: The Avenue is a strong example of how communities can address multiple layers of housing need within a single development strategy. Its first phase will add 39 income-restricted apartments serving households at 30–60% AMI, while a planned second phase would add 20 units aimed at households earning 80–100% AMI. Just as important is the financing approach, which combines LIHTC with local TIF support and WHEDA’s Vacancy-to-Vitality program - a clear demonstration of layering different tools to make projects feasible and serve a broader swath of residents...

WAUKESHA, Wis.— Plans to redevelop the former UW-Milwaukee at Waukesha campus are moving forward after the Waukesha County Board approved the sale of the property.

The 76-acre site at 1500 N. University Drive is slated for a mixed residential development led by Milwaukee-based real estate and investment firm F Street, in partnership with Waukesha County and the City of Waukesha.

The proposal includes roughly 70 single-family homes and about 600 market-rate multifamily units, which would be built in phases. Apartment buildings are expected to include two-story garden-style units and three- to four-story buildings.

County officials say the redevelopment could add more than $150 million to the tax base while helping address local housing needs..

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MADISON (WLUK) -- Low-income residents in 10 Northeast Wisconsin counties affected by NEWCAP’s closure will soon have a new interim provider for services.

Foundation for Rural Housing, Inc. has been named the interim provider by the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families in the counties previously served by NEWCAP, effective immediately.

The organization’s website will be https://www.NEffrh.org and is expected to go live on October 1. Its public office will be at 3500 Packerland Drive, Suite 285, in De Pere, and is set to open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday beginning October 1...

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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...