This Weeks Articles for 5/13/2025 ...

1. DSPS Puts Focus on Affordable Housing...
2. Hillpointe Launches Nonprofit to Tackle Attainable Workforce Housing Challenges...
3. 9 Most Affordable Places to Live in Wisconsin in 2025...
4. Rethinking building codes: How Wisconsin could build more by regulating smarter...
5. GOP bill would support investments in child care, workforce housing ...
6. What you need to know about efforts to create affordable housing for early childhood educators ...
7. St. Croix EDC to share results of new county-wide housing study...

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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

Madison, Wis. – The Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS) is recognizing Affordable Housing Week (May 12-16) by travelling the state to host collaborative conversations on ways the department’s work regarding building codes could potentially lead to an increase in affordable housing development in Wisconsin.

DSPS Secretary Dan Hereth will visit multiple affordable housing facilities, engaging developers, architects, and other key stakeholders.

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Leo`s notes:  Refreshing to see DSPS take real action to modernize outdated building codes that have long inflated housing costs. By actively removing regulatory barriers and collaborating with key agencies, Wisconsin is finally aligning policy with the urgent need for more affordable homes...

In response to the extreme shortage of attainable housing for essential workers, HAWCS will advocate for policies, partnerships, and community-driven solutions.

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Leo`s notes: HAWCS is stepping in where policy has lagged—putting essential workers at the center of the housing conversation. By blending advocacy, education, and partnerships, this nonprofit challenges the broken systems that have priced out teachers, nurses, and first responders from the communities they serve. It’s a timely, community-rooted effort we need more of nationwide.

With the scenic beauty of Lake Michigan and Lake Superior, the charming towns in Door County, and vibrant cities like Milwaukee, there are plenty of reasons to love living in Wisconsin. If you’ve been considering moving to Wisconsin or are hoping to relocate to a new city, you also probably have a budget you’d like to stay under as you look for a place to live. As of April, the median home sale price in Wisconsin is $310,800. 

Don’t worry if that price doesn’t fit in your budget – we’ve got options to help you find a home or apartment that does. Redfin has rounded up a list of 9 of the most affordable places to live in Wisconsin – and they all have a median home sale price under the state’s average. Let’s jump in and see what cities are on the list...

#1: Racine...

#2: Oshkosh...

#3: Milwaukee...

#4: La Crosse...

#5: Kenosha...

#6: West Allis...

#7: Green Bay...

#8: Janesville...

#9: Appleton...

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RACINE, WI — As Wisconsin confronts a shortfall of more than 227,000 housing units by 2030, state and local officials, developers, and housing advocates gathered at the new Arabella Apartments in Racine on Monday, May 12, to discuss one of the most pressing issues facing the state: how to build more affordable housing amid rising costs, outdated building regulations, and federal funding uncertainty.

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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...

A new GOP bill increasing the flexibility of some state tax credit programs would bolster investments in workforce housing and child care, WisBusiness reports.

The new legislation follows a bill signed into law in 2024 that made changes to Wisconsin’s Business Development Tax Credit and Enterprise Zone Tax Credit programs. Current law allows qualifying recipients to claim tax benefits up to 15% of their investment in workforce housing for employees and up to 15% of their investment in creating a child care program for employees. It defines qualifying investments as “capital expenditures made by the person.”

The Bill is Here.

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Leo’s notes: Expanding tax credit eligibility beyond direct capital investments and employee-only programs finally recognizes the role businesses can play in broader community solutions. Removing red tape to support child care and workforce housing is exactly the kind of flexibility we need to strengthen Wisconsin’s workforce and local economies.

If you’re an early childhood educator, you might be eligible to purchase an affordable home.

Since October, local groups like the Community Development Alliance, Acts Housing and Habitat for Humanity have partnered to create homes for early childhood educators. Herb Kohl Philanthropies announced a $1 million gift to help fund the development of more.

“One of our mantras every day is ‘we love teachers,’ ” said JoAnne Anton, the foundation’s president, at an April 30 event at Malaika Early Learning Center in the Harambee neighborhood. “That includes early childhood educators. Unfortunately, the early childhood education sector is struggling.”

How it works

The three-bedroom, 1,000-square-foot homes are part of a 42-home development being built around five early childhood education centers.

The homes are exclusively for early childhood educators and will be sold for approximately $100,000 each...

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Leo’s notes: Solving multiple issues at once! By linking homeownership to early childhood educators, this partnership not only addresses our housing crisis but affirms the essential value of the people who help shape our youngest learners. Affordable homes for educators mean stronger families, better outcomes for children, and more stable communities.

HUDSON - St. Croix Economic Development Corporation (SCEDC) has announced plans to hold a series of events to share results and discuss a new study of housing issues across the county.  The first ever St. Croix County comprehensive survey is nearing completion and was designed to review the current housing supply, analyze the county’s future housing demand, define potential gaps between the supply and demand, and highlight key hurdles and challenges that may need to be resolved to help ?ll these gaps. The study will also have a series of specific ?ndings and some recommended actions.

“How we deal with the challenges and opportunities related to housing is an important conversation for the entire county,” said Melissa Meschke, Executive Director of St. Croix EDC. “We conducted the study to make sure this conversation is as informed as possible. The data is comprehensive to help us better understand what’s happening today, what data suggests will happen in the future, and to look at ideas and recommendations to help everyone make better decisions. We are excited to be ready to share the information and are looking forward to the conversations with all our stakeholders.”

SCEDC hired the West Central Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission, a multi-county planning agency, to conduct the survey. The commission works on planning for physical, social and economic development in Barron, Chippewa, Clark, Dunn, Eau Claire, Polk, and St. Croix counties.

The study was designed to create a housing needs assessment, an affordable housing solutions toolbox, a county-wide housing snapshot, and housing snapshots for speci?c municipalities. It will document all the study ?ndings and recommended actions. The snapshots will summarize demographic and housing data within the community, along with the county’s housing needs and goals, as documented in the county-wide housing study.

The State of Wisconsin has projected St. Croix County’s population will increase by approximately 10% from 2020 to 2050, yet household sizes are expected to decrease. This will likely lead to an increased number of households and a greater need for additional housing units.

“With so much change happening here, from population changes and an evolving regional economy, we think having updated baseline facts about housing is incredibly important,” Meschke said. “We also realized that a comprehensive, county-wide housing study has never been conducted until now.”...

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Leo`s notes:  St. Croix County’s proactive approach to understanding its housing needs is a model for regional planning. With population growth and shrinking household sizes ahead, this data-driven study is a crucial step toward smart, inclusive housing solutions. Transparent conversations like these help ensure every community—urban or rural—can plan for a future where people can afford to live where they work.

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...