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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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Ken and Leo Note: Thanks to Jackson County Economic Development and Tourism Director Ken Pearson for putting these Corner Booth Coffee Conversations together!

EAU CLAIRE, Wis., (WLAX, WEUX) – The City of Eau Claire is requesting proposals for affordable housing projects. The city says this is in response to growing need for elderly and low-income housing.

The City of Eau Claire has focused on affordable housing since 2020.

“We’re starting to see from our providers; they’re saying older individuals and individuals that have significant health issues are starting to become homeless.”

“The challenge then is, sort of, how do we increase the total stock of housing to bring these prices down?”

And the city is taking a step by asking developers to help.

“We’re looking for projects that do hit those low incomes.”

The city is offering $785,000 in funding for these projects.

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Leo's notes: The City of Eau Claire is seeking proposals for affordable housing projects, inviting developers to bring forward opportunities to expand local housing options. The effort reflects a more proactive approach to addressing the city's housing shortage. Soliciting proposals is a positive step, but the real test is whether communities can make workforce housing financially viable. Eau Claire should prioritize projects that deliver homes affordable to local wage earners, particularly smaller homes and missing-middle housing that remain underserved by conventional development. Public incentives should be tied to measurable affordability and additional housing production—not simply the number of proposals received.

LA CROSSE (WKBT) -- Adults with disabilities, seniors and local workforce families will soon have a new housing option in La Crosse.

Haven on Main held a ribbon-cutting ceremony this morning at 915 Main St. The 70-unit affordable housing development was designed for people with disabilities, seniors and local workforce families.

“We’re bringing the community together to create an environment for people of all abilities to come together and have a safe, connecting home environment,” said Jennia Melde, a representative for Haven for Special People.

The solar-powered building includes utilities in the rent...

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Leo's notes: Haven on Main demonstrates that affordability, accessibility and inclusive community design can be achieved within the same development. Its downtown location also connects residents to existing infrastructure, services and employment opportunities. Wisconsin needs more housing partnerships that recognize workforce housing is not a single building type or income bracket, but a broader commitment to creating attainable homes for people with diverse needs and abilities.

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Leo’s notes: Tomah’s event that brought together developers and lenders to tour 11 development sites shows their commitment to close a projected housing gap of 400–700 units by 2030. The city is also pursuing residential TIF under Wisconsin Act 235 and zoning changes to accommodate modular and manufactured homes. Their effort is a prime example of treating housing as economic development, not an afterthought. With only 25 percent of Tomah's workforce living in the city, the consequences are clear. Attracting jobs without creating places for workers to live is an incomplete economic development strategy. Tomah's approach offers a model other Wisconsin communities should be following.

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
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...

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WKBT) -- Local housing experts gathered Thursday evening to discuss strategies for transforming vacant and underutilized buildings into affordable housing, addressing a critical shortage in the Chippewa Valley.

The event, titled "Repurposing Spaces to Create Affordable Housing," was held from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library and was sponsored by the JONAH Affordable Housing Task Force, the library, the Chippewa Valley Home Builders Association, and the Eau Claire Tenant-Landlord Resource Center.

According to Paul Savides, co-chair of the JONAH Affordable Housing Task Force, the discussion focused on identifying empty buildings, vacant lots, and underused spaces that could be converted into affordable housing.

The Brief

• Local housing experts gathered Thursday evening in Eau Claire to discuss strategies for repurposing existing buildings to address a shortage of affordable housing in the Chippewa Valley.

• According to organizers, Eau Claire has a 700-person waiting list for public housing and an estimated 1,000 people experiencing homelessness.

• Experts say converting vacant buildings could provide faster solutions than new construction, which can take six to eight years to complete.

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Leo's notes: The opportunity being examined by Eau Claire housing experts goes beyond preserving old buildings. Repurposing viable properties can create housing near existing jobs, infrastructure and services while reducing the need for new development sites. Adaptive reuse only advances workforce housing when the finished units are affordable to local wage earners. Communities should prioritize feasible conversions, address financing gaps and measure success by the attainable homes delivered—not simply the buildings saved.

Rocket (RKT)-powered brokerage Redfin published a housing-cost analysis exploring when mortgage payments could return to historical income levels. Redfin estimates a hypothetical national return to August 2018 affordability levels by November 2031 with 6% mortgage rates and 2.1% annual home-price growth. With flat prices and 7.5% rates, the modeled date is April 2032; with flat prices and 6% rates, it is February 2029.

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Leo's notes: A new Redfin analysis suggests U.S. housing costs could return to 2018 affordability levels within five years under favorable mortgage-rate and price-growth scenarios. However, Milwaukee is among the markets where affordability could take a decade or longer to recover if current trends persist. Waiting for the housing market to correct itself is not a workforce housing strategy. Communities need to accelerate production of smaller homes, duplexes and other attainable ownership options while reducing unnecessary development costs. Affordability should improve because we build housing that matches local incomes—not simply because we wait for wages and interest rates to catch up.

LA CROSSE (WKBT) -- After nearly seven years of planning, the Copper Rocks project broke ground today at the former Kmart property on State Road in La Crosse.

The development is planned to include 247 homes and 20,000 square feet of commercial and community space. The project is among a small number in La Crosse focused on housing for middle-income residents.

“That workforce-oriented housing had not had the opportunities for a variety of reasons,” said Jeremy Novak, vice president of development for 360 Real Estate Solutions. “As we look at new projects, that’s the group that we particularly try to focus our efforts on.”

Demolition is expected to begin in March or April next year.

The first construction phase is expected to wrap up in 2028, with the final phase slated for completion in 2029...

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Leo's notes: La Crosse’s Copper Rocks development has officially broken ground at the former Kmart site, advancing a long-delayed mixed-use redevelopment by Three-Sixty Real Estate Solutions. Transforming obsolete commercial properties into housing is an opportunity Wisconsin communities should pursue more aggressively. Copper Rocks demonstrates the potential to add substantial housing supply within existing urban infrastructure rather than extending development outward. While its market-rate apartments will not directly address every workforce affordability need, expanding supply and diversifying housing options are important pieces of the solution. The next challenge is ensuring redevelopment opportunities also produce homes attainable to middle-income households.

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...