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Wisconsin Workforce Housing News



Leonardo Silva - Editor
Architect / Full Service Design Firm
608.698.3522
Leo@WWHNews.com

Ken Harwood - Publisher
Advocating for Wisconsin
608.334.2174
Ken@WWHnews.com

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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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UW-Oshkosh study shows impact of zoning changes on workforce housing


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.

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New affordable housing law has something for 'everybody,' expert says


Wisconsin housing advocates and lawmakers are optimistic that a new federal law will help address the state’s shortage of affordable housing, but how agencies will fund and implement provisions in the law remains to be seen.

Known as the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, the law is a sweeping package of measures that touch many corners of the housing industry and largely aims to increase the country’s stock of affordable housing.

The Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority, which oversees affordable housing in the state, has called the bipartisan law “the most significant update to affordable housing programs in the United States in decades.”...


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Leo's notes: The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act represents a meaningful shift toward treating housing supply as a national economic issue, with reforms touching permitting, manufactured housing, home repair, infill development and pre-approved housing designs. For Wisconsin, provisions protecting rural rental housing and incentivizing local zoning reform could be especially valuable, but authorization alone will not build homes—the real measure of this legislation will be whether Congress and federal agencies provide the funding and implementation needed to turn these new tools into actual housing production.

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Modular Homes Could Help Solve the Housing Crisis—but They Need To Fix Their Image Problem First


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.

But Malouff believes the benefits of modular housing—the speed and quality modular assembly can bring—will become increasingly attractive to homebuyers amid a housing shortage and affordability crisis....

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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.

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VIA CDC hopes new housing model will make homeownership more affordable


VIA CDC has begun the first phase of its Affordable Townhome Initiative. Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service has the story.

VIA Community Development Corp. has a new model the organization hopes will create attainable homeownership opportunities on Milwaukee’s South Side. 

VIA CDC, formerly known as Layton Boulevard West Neighbors, has served Layton Park, Burnham Park, Silver City and Clarke Square in the areas of economic development, housing and community building. 

As a certified Community Housing Development Organization, VIA CDC has produced more than 50 affordable homes and leveraged more than $52 million in neighborhood investment to create opportunities for Milwaukee neighbors. 

In early August the group launched the first phase of its latest project, the Affordable Townhome Initiative.

Affordable Townhome Initiative

The $2.95 million development will transform three vacant city-owned lots on Milwaukee’s near South Side into 10 owner-occupied townhomes designed for households at or below 80% of Area Median Income...
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Leo's notes: VIA CDC’s Affordable Townhome Initiative offers a compelling model for turning small, vacant urban parcels into attainable ownership opportunities, with homes projected around $125,000 for households earning up to 80% of area median income. The project is especially noteworthy for using compact townhome design to make efficient use of infill sites while creating equity-building opportunities for working families. If successfully replicated, this type of small-scale development could become an important complement to Wisconsin’s larger affordable rental projects and help restore a missing rung on the homeownership ladder.

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Home prices, rents have risen sharply in northeast Wisconsin over the last decade


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

The median home price in northeast Wisconsin has more than doubled over the last decade, while fair market rents in the region’s two largest cities have also climbed sharply.

Local officials, housing advocates and economists say those cost increases — fueled by tight supply and high demand — have made it harder for young families to purchase their first home and for renters to make ends meet.

Northeast Wisconsin is home to Green Bay and the Fox Valley. It’s a mix of medium-sized cities and rural communities. Wisconsin Realtors Association data shows median home prices in the region climbed from $145,000 in July 2016 to $331,000 in July 2026...

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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...

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Sturgeon Bay - Approval of TID #12 Clears Path for West Side Housing Development


Sturgeon Bay’s Joint Review Board approved on Aug. 13 the creation of a new Tax Incremental District (TID) on the city’s west side, where a developer wants to build a residential subdivision as well as storage units.

The city’s TID #12 will be retroactive to Jan. 1 of this year. It places six parcels totalling about 77 acres along Division Road, South Ridgeway Avenue and South Ridgeway Drive into a mixed-use district with a maximum life of 20 years.

The new district includes 35.43 acres where a new development is planned along Division Road with 44 single-family residential lots, 11 duplex lots and 34 storage units with optional living spaces. Thirty of the single-family lots are being designated for “workforce housing,” where specific homes will be offered at set prices to Door County workers.

Community Development Director Rebecca Kerwin said the development would also include routing an extension of the Ahnapee Trail through the project site that would separate the housing subdivision from the storage units.

“Total project costs are estimated at $4.48 million, with projected incremental value of about $38.8 million by 2046,” she said...


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Leo's notes: The project is a strong example of how municipalities can use TIF strategically—not simply to subsidize development, but to overcome infrastructure costs and make modestly priced homeownership more feasible. For communities struggling to retain working families, creating attainable ownership opportunities is every bit as important as expanding rental supply.

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Affordable Housing Project Underway in Sturgeon Bay


Construction has begun this summer on The Avenue, a new affordable housing development near the intersection of North 14th Avenue and Georgia Street.  

Developer Brian Spoerl of Spoerl Commercial has started 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 said he expects the first building to be ready for occupancy next June, with apartments available to households earning between 30-60% of the area median income. He anticipates the building will be fully occupied by the end of 2027...


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Leo's notes: The Avenue offers a particularly strong model by pairing 39 income-restricted apartments with a second 20-unit phase aimed at households earning 80–100% of area median income. That second tier matters: many working households earn too much for traditional affordable housing but still struggle in Door County’s constrained market. Combining LIHTC, local TIF and WHEDA’s Vacancy-to-Vitality program demonstrates how different financing tools can work together to serve a broader continuum of housing need.

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Madison churches becoming housing, community spaces as religion shifts


The Rev. Staci Marrese-Wheeler can pinpoint the moment she heard a conversation that crystalized the need for Madison’s churches to rethink their model. Two young student teachers were talking on their way to a monthly gathering, hosted in the former Lakeview Moravian Church building.

“They’d always come past my office and say, ‘Hi,’” recalled Marrese-Wheeler, pastor of Common Grace and co-director of the nonprofit Eastmorland Community Center. “One day I hear (them) as they’re walking downstairs, and one of them says, ‘What does this building smell like? It kind of smells like my grandparents’ house to me.’ And the other one says, ‘Nostalgia. It smells like nostalgia.’”...
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Leo's notes: Madison’s churches are demonstrating how underused institutional land can become part of the solution to the housing shortage while preserving important community gathering spaces. Common Grace alone will pair a new community center with 26 workforce apartments, while several church-led projects could collectively add hundreds of income- or age-restricted homes. For communities searching for infill opportunities, faith-based properties represent an increasingly important resource—and partnerships that help congregations navigate development, financing and zoning could unlock considerably more housing.

Ken Notes: Imagine if every church in Wisconsin built just a few ADU's, small homes, multiplexes, or co-housing facilities and made their building available as community centers, day cares, kitchens, when not being used for worship. We would not have a housing problem in the state...

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21st Century ROAD to Housing Act provides boost for affordable housing industry


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 and tax credit industry.



  • Changes to Requirements...
  • Changes to CDBG Funding...
  • Changes for Planning Activities...
  • Changes Still Possible, Elusive for BABA...
  • Changes to (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...

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Southeastern Wisconsin Housing Summit 2026 Recap


On May 7, Kenosha County Housing Task Force members attended the Southeastern Wisconsin (SEWI) Housing Summit, which Community Economic Development Extension Educator Savannah Meyers helped facilitate.

The SEWI Housing Summit gathered representatives from ten counties in Southeast Wisconsin at the Milwaukee County Zoo. The event gave attendees an opportunity to learn from a variety of keynote speakers and specialized presentations in breakout rooms. Presentations covered topics such as zoning, legislative developments, trends in housing and households over the last handful of decades, and programs that can promote the construction and funding of affordable and healthy communities in the coming years. 

Speakers relayed significant information about Kenosha County and Wisconsin in general, including the following:

Kenosha and Wisconsin Housing Statistics...


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Leo's notes: The Southeastern Wisconsin Housing Summit highlighted how closely zoning, financing, infrastructure and workforce housing production are intertwined. With new-home affordability increasingly out of reach for many households, the region’s focus on streamlined approvals, higher-density development and expanded WHEDA tools is well placed. The next test is whether these policy changes translate into a sustained increase in actual housing production. Also great article that names and briefly explains the seven bills recently signed into law. For more information, please look in our NEWSLETTER RESOURCES for a more in depth coverage of each bill.

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Ascension explores affordable housing for historic Milwaukee hospital building


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.

“Working with elected officials and community stakeholders to help address the need for housing in the area, Ascension is exploring a new chapter for the historic Heritage Center building on the Ascension Columbia St. Mary’s Milwaukee Campus,” an Ascension spokesperson said. “Because neighborhood fit and community alignment are priorities, we are taking a deliberate, thorough and inclusive approach; no final decisions or predetermined plans have been made. We are actively initiating a phased, collaborative, local engagement process, and ongoing due diligence is underway to understand our options. We look forward to working closely with city officials, community leaders, and local clergy to gather their vital input as we shape a shared vision for the stability and vitality of the community.”...


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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...

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Local officials discuss public sector development


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.

While there are certainly ways to navigate and construct affordable housing opportunities, rising material costs and labor shifts post-COVID continue to be some of the factors driving up building prices. White said the average new home sale price in the Chippewa Valley has reached roughly $500,000 based on new construction sales compiled over 2024 and 2025...


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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.

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Wisconsin’s homeless population may be increasing due to rising housing prices and declining economy


The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development may shift their funding from 'Housing First' to treatment first programs

Wisconsin’s homeless population has been rising in recent years, but the state continues to outperform its Midwest neighbors in addressing homelessness.

According to a recent Wisconsin Policy Forum report, the state’s homeless population increased to 5,495 this year, a 4.8 percent increase over 2025. It was the fifth consecutive year of increases after years of decline.

The report said factors including rising housing costs, worsening economic conditions and the expiration of pandemic-era supports may be behind the rise...


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Ken Notes: We need to remember there is a very real cost to all Wisconsin citizens for both the homeless and the lack of workforce housing. If we want groceries, retail stores, meat and dairy, hotels, restaurants, not to mention our daily cup of coffee -- we need to provide quality housing near where the service is provided.

If we want safer neighborhoods we need to address other issues as well. Working with alcohol, drugs, and mental illness is a very real challenge and working together on these issues seems to be the key to success. The housing first approach has proven to be the most successful and cost effective. For the record I am a fiscal conservative and believe there should be a return on our investments.

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Wisconsin Workforce Housing Resources


ENABLING BETTER PLACES: A USER’S GUIDE TO WISCONSIN NEIGHBORHOOD AFFORDABILITY

Wisconsin REALTORS® Association

WISCAP Affordable Housing Network

Division of Energy, Housing and Community Resources


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...

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“A Historic Day”: Ground Broken For New Apartments On Former Mirro Property


Governmental leaders celebrated the official groundbreaking of new apartments in Manitowoc.

A ceremony was held this morning for the soon-to-be-built Maritime Lofts on the former Mirro Property on Washington Street.

Leaders say the project will provide workforce housing for those who make 30 to 80% of the median income.

Public Housing Marketing President for Gorman and Company Ted Matkom called the project an amazing effort by the city to bring the site back to the community.

Manitowoc Mayor Justin Nickels called the day historic and thanked the many stakeholders who helped make the site’s future possible...


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Leo's notes: Maritime Lofts is a strong example of how housing policy, environmental remediation and downtown redevelopment can work together. The 59-unit project will transform Manitowoc’s long-vacant former Mirro industrial property into housing for households earning 30–80% of area median income, leveraging local leadership alongside WHEDA, state and federal resources. For older Wisconsin communities, difficult brownfield sites can become meaningful housing opportunities—but projects like this also demonstrate the patience, public investment and cross-agency coordination required to make redevelopment financially feasible.

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SSM Health, the Madison Development Corporation and Community Partners Celebrate Opening of The Bankston Apartments


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!

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Pope Leo Village brings affordable housing to Milwaukee's Harambee neighborhood


Habitat for Humanity's Pope Leo Village project, part of a national housing initiative, is creating affordable homes in Milwaukee's Harambee neighborhood, inspired by Pope Leo's mission of community building.

MILWAUKEE —

Habitat for Humanity has launched the Pope Leo Village project in Milwaukee's Harambee neighborhood, part of a national initiative to create affordable housing in 21 cities and build 250 homes across the country.

The project began Friday near Sixth and Locust, with blessings written on the walls and a focus on hope and community.

"As we gather this morning to entrust to God the Pope Leo Village building project by Habitat for Humanity and its partners, our faith should be enlivened and our hearts filled with gratitude," Auxiliary Bishop Jeffrey Haines said.

Seven homes are either completed or under construction in Milwaukee as part of the initiative.

"The Pope Leo Village initiative is been motivated by an anonymous donor who is supporting all the projects across the country. And he reached out to us last year, after Pope Leo was elected with this idea," Kristi Sebald with Habitat for Humanity Milwaukee said...



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Leo's notes: Milwaukee’s Pope Leo Village significance is the focus on ownership: adding attainable starter homes gives working households an opportunity to build equity and establish long-term roots. Rental production remains essential, but healthy communities need pathways into ownership as well.

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Vernon County launches ‘Driftless Bound’ to attract new workers and families


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.

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Bay View church weighs redevelopment with 55 apartments, smaller worship space amid declining membership


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.

MILWAUKEE — Unity Lutheran Church in Milwaukee's Bay View neighborhood is considering a redevelopment plan that would replace its existing building with a four-story building containing 55 apartment units and a smaller worship and ministry space.

Pastor Kevan Penvose says declining membership, falling revenue, and urgent structural repairs have made redevelopment necessary.

"We are only using half the building. The original church basement only gets used for storage, and in the education wing, the second floor is really not usable,” said Penvose...

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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.

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McShane to Build 52-Unit Affordable Housing Community in Portage, Wisconsin


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.

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Revive Housing Pilot Advances After Months Of Negotiations


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.

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HUD funding lags could hit rural Wisconsin hardest


The Metropolitan Milwaukee Fair Housing Council warns that a disruption in federal funding for the Fair Housing Initiative Program could have an outsized effect on rural and small communities across Wisconsin.

The council provides services statewide and said rural areas face unique fair housing challenges but often have fewer resources to address them.

Erika Sanders, CEO of the council, said older housing stock in rural areas creates additional challenges for people with disabilities who need accessibility modifications.

"People have the perception that rural communities are all white, and therefore race discrimination doesn't happen in those communities but that's absolutely untrue, especially in areas where Hmong refugees have settled, especially where migrant workers have settled," Sanders pointed out...


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Leo's notes: Wisconsin’s housing shortage makes fair-housing enforcement more important, not less, particularly in rural communities where options and local resources are already limited. Workforce housing policy cannot focus solely on producing units; workers and families must also have equitable access to the homes that are available. Maintaining education and enforcement capacity should be viewed as part of the infrastructure supporting a functional statewide housing market.

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Walworth County Habitat for Humanity volunteers working to build 'missing middle' housing as fast as they can


Organization is constructing four townhomes in Whitewater for middle-class families

WHITEWATER, Wis. — Housing availability and affordability is a constant concern in Walworth County. The county's Habitat for Humanity chapter is trying to fill the need for middle-class families by working with one city at a time.

"We're looking out for the missing middle," said Habitat for Humanity Walworth County executive director John Dawson. "They're teachers. They're first responders. They're factory workers with great jobs."...

"When a family comes to buy the house, they'll pay $200,000 for the house, but it will be worth $400,000," Dawson explained...

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Leo's notes: Walworth County Habitat for Humanity is taking an important step beyond the traditional single-family Habitat model, building four workforce townhomes near downtown Whitewater specifically aimed at teachers, first responders, factory workers and other middle-income households. The homes are expected to sell for about $200,000 despite an estimated market value of roughly $400,000, demonstrating how donated land, nonprofit development and volunteer labor can dramatically change the economics of attainable homeownership. What makes this worth watching is the partnership with Whitewater, which provided the land at nominal cost and sees homeownership as a community-development priority. With Habitat already planning a 20-home subdivision after this project, the larger opportunity is to determine whether this model can move from a handful of subsidized homes to a repeatable strategy for producing missing-middle ownership housing at meaningful scale.

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$150K grant awarded to NeighborWorks Green Bay to help homebuyers and homeowners


GREEN BAY (WLUK) --A new three-year grant worth $150,000 has been awarded to NeighborWorks Green Bay by Associated Bank.

"This support will help us make sure that families continue to make smart decisions with their money and smart decisions about their housing," said NeighborWorks Green Bay President & CEO, Noel Halvorsen.

NeighborWorks Green Bay applied for the grant through a grant portal offered by Associated Bank.

Halvorsen said the nonprofit and the bank have had a relationship for years. A press release says the grant "reinforces a long-standing partnership focused on helping more families prepare for and achieve stable homeownership."

NeighborWorks will receive $50,000 each year from 2026 through 2028. Halvorsen says as many as 1,000 families come to NeighborWorks Green Bay each year...


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Leo’s notes: NeighborWorks Green Bay’s new funding highlights an important complement to building more workforce housing: helping working households successfully access and sustain homeownership. With the share of Wisconsin homes priced below $350,000 falling sharply, counseling, down-payment assistance and homeowner education can help bridge an increasingly difficult affordability gap. Increasing supply remains essential, but communities also need strong pathways that allow today’s workforce to become tomorrow’s homeowners.

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Altoona shifts plans for affordable housing to industrial properties


ALTOONA, Wis., (WLAX, WEUX ) - The City of Altoona has shifted its plans to build affordable housing on an 80 acre plot of land near Highway 12. In 2022, the city adopted plans to develop a neighborhood on the East side of Altoona. Right here we have an image of the original plans. The plan was aimed at building homes at a cost of $300,000 for buyers.

After receiving zero proposals, the council estimated developing the land would cost an estimated $11 to $12 million. Now the council has shifted discussions toward building industrial property on the plot.


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Leo's notes: Altoona’s decision to reconsider an 80-acre housing site after receiving zero development proposals is a useful reminder that identifying land and setting an affordability goal are only the beginning. The city envisioned homes around $300,000, but an estimated $11–$12 million in development costs ultimately made the concept difficult for the private market to deliver. The potential pivot to industrial development may make economic sense for Altoona, but it also illustrates a challenge playing out across Wisconsin: communities need workforce housing, yet infrastructure and land-development costs can make even publicly supported sites financially infeasible. A great opportunity to explore WI Act 235!

Ken Notes: What they need is a planning and feasibility study and remember you can do both housing and industrial on a site using TIF and other tools. Altoona is 10K population so even 50 affordable workforce homes would have a positive impact!

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The Avenue project moves ahead with 39 new affordable housing units in Sturgeon Bay


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...

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About Wisconsin Workforce Housing News (WWHNews.com)


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 aggregate news and highlight programs that are working to provide affordable workforce housing in Wisconsin. We advocate for state and local policies that improve the more affordable housing markets. We encourage developers to build new homes that are affordable for those working for Wisconsin while still making a fair profit on the work they do. We encourage communities and neighborhoods to become partners in meeting these needs. We highlight what others have done as a form of "Best Practices" in the State and Country. Finally, we provide direct links to resources and programs in the State.

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.

Safe, affordable housing makes a difference in the lives of children and families impacting both education and health. We are supporting affordable housing because it is good for business, good for families, good for communities, and good for Wisconsin.

Leonardo Silva - Editor
Architect / Full Service Design Firm
608.698.3522
Leo@WWHNews.com

Ken Harwood - Publisher
Advocating for Wisconsin
608.334.2174
Ken@WWHNews.com


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List of Housing Resources



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

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