Wisconsin Workforce Housing News
Leo@WWHNews.com
Ken@WWHnews.com
This Weeks Articles for 10/19/2026 ...
- One Year Later: FHLBank Chicago’s $2 Million AHP Grant Helps Deliver 40 New Homes in Rural Wisconsin...
- Four mayors, one squeeze: Leaders face the challenge of a K-shaped economy...
- Wisconsin condo development lags, leaving fewer options for affordable homes...
- Gov. Evers, WHEDA Celebrate Groundbreaking of New Single Family Workforce Housing in Plymouth...
- What’s new in Wisconsin TIF: Key changes under Acts 173 and 235 ...
- Why is affordable housing so difficult?...
- Wisconsin Housing Preservation Corp.: To celebrate groundbreaking for Prairie Haus Senior in New Glarus...
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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
Special Note: Leo and Ken are focused on bringing economic development, regional growth, and workforce housing expertise together at the community level. We hope to help turn new state policy into actual projects - and ultimately into homes for the workers these communities need to sustain their businesses and economy. We are excited to be a part of this conversation.
One Year Later: FHLBank Chicago’s $2 Million AHP Grant Helps Deliver 40 New Homes in Rural Wisconsin
Trailview Cottages is fully occupied and now serves as a hub for workforce training and education. One year after breaking ground, Trailview Cottages in Hayward, Wisconsin, is fully occupied, providing 40 affordable and workforce housing units with support from a $2 million Affordable Housing Program (AHP) grant from FHLBank Chicago.
HAYWARD, Wis.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--One year after breaking ground, Trailview Cottages, a 40-unit workforce and affordable housing community in Hayward, Wisconsin, is fully occupied and providing residents with access to on-site workforce training. The development received a $2 million Affordable Housing Program (AHP) grant from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago (FHLBank Chicago), awarded in partnership with FHLBank Chicago member IFF.
Impact Seven led development of Trailview Cottages, with additional financing from Cinnaire. Residents began moving in as construction progressed, helping address local housing needs sooner. Today, all 40 units are leased, with another 208 households on the waiting list, underscoring the continued need for affordable housing in northwest Wisconsin.
“Our members understand the housing needs in the communities they serve, and AHP provides funding to help address those needs,” said Katie Naftzger, senior vice president and community investment officer at FHLBank Chicago. “Trailview Cottages shows what’s possible when our members and local partners work together to expand access to affordable housing and connect residents with workforce training close to home.”...
Leo's notes: Hayward's Trailview Cottages demonstrates both the potential of thoughtfully designed rural workforce housing and the scale of unmet demand- 40 new homes are already occupied with another 208 households on the waiting list. The bigger question is how we move from celebrating individual projects to making this type of development financially feasible and replicable across Wisconsin's smaller communities.
Four mayors, one squeeze: Leaders face the challenge of a K-shaped economy
Wisconsin cities are confronting the demands of a K-shaped economy in which some households climb economically while others slide as they face an affordability crunch.
“The problem of a K-shaped economy is not about the line sloping up or the line sloping down,” said Superior Mayor Jim Paine. “It’s about what’s missing from the space in between. To me, that’s the gutting of the middle class and an abandonment of small, locally owned businesses.”
Paine was one of four mayors who detailed their challenges as they wrestle with a changing economy during panel discussions at the Wisconsin Economic Summit in Eau Claire this month. The four communities represented on the panel ranged from Milwaukee (population 600,000) to Dodgeville (population 5,100).
Although their scale differed, their problems overlapped: housing, workforce, and a state revenue system they say leaves them little room to maneuver.
Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway used a single statistic to summarize the economy faced by Wisconsin residents: more than 30% of Wisconsinites, she said, are asset-limited and income-constrained.
“A third of our state in is this category,” she said. “It looks like homelessness, increasing instability in housing, and wages not keeping up with costs.”...
...Full Story Here
Leo's notes: Economic development cannot stop at attracting employers and creating jobs; if communities cannot house the workforce those investments depend on, housing becomes the constraint on economic growth rather than a benefit of it.
Wisconsin condo development lags, leaving fewer options for affordable homes
Condominiums can be a more affordable path to homeownership, but developers say policy and economic challenges make new construction difficult
Wisconsin falls well below the national average when it comes to condos as part of the broader housing market, which puts homeownership further out of reach for many people.
Condominiums often serve as a more affordable home for first-time buyers. They can also be an option for older adults to retain equity as they downsize from larger single-family homes.
Wisconsin’s median home price was $314,000 in August, according to the latest numbers from the Wisconsin Realtors Association. That’s a 50 percent increase over the past five years...
Leo's notes: WPR reports that owner-occupied multifamily housing accounts for less than 8% of Wisconsin's housing stock, compared with more than 12% nationally. Madison and Milwaukee have also experienced dramatic declines in new condo production since the mid-2000s. Housing choice depends on financing and development feasibility just as much as zoning—especially when conventional rental projects are easier to finance than attainable ownership alternatives.
Ken Notes: We understand that 2008 was devastating for the condo market with banks selling units to those that could not afford them, but today we have an "ownership" crisis and banks are still leery of lending in this market. We are shooting ourselves in the foot by not creating markets for our service, retail, and entry level workers to own affordable homes. Condos are a part of the solution not the problem.
Wisconsin Workforce Housing Resources
...Full Story Here
Gov. Evers, WHEDA Celebrate Groundbreaking of New Single Family Workforce Housing in Plymouth
First Infrastructure Access Loan for new single family home development is part of a public-private partnership to address the workforce housing shortage for area employers.
PLYMOUTH, Wisc. — Gov. Tony Evers and the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA) CEO & Executive Director Elmer Moore, Jr., together with local public leaders, employers, and stakeholders, today celebrated the groundbreaking of the new Scholar’s Ridge development in Plymouth, Wisconsin.
Developed through the Sheboygan County Economic Development Corporation's (SCEDC) Housing Initiative, the subdivision will include affordable single family homes. This project is made possible with Sheboygan County's American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds used to acquire the land, private donors of the Forward Fund (Sargento, Masters Gallery Foods, Kohler, and Johnsonville), WHEDA's Infrastructure Access Loan (the first of its kind for single family housing), and funds from the City of Plymouth.
“From our smallest towns and villages to our biggest cities, addressing the issue of affordable workforce housing is absolutely critical to building a strong workforce, strong communities, and a strong state. My administration and I are proud of the work we have done to expand access to affordable housing, including securing one of the largest investments in workforce housing in our state’s history,” said Gov. Evers. "With the addition of Scholar’s Ridge, Sheboygan County is creating the blueprint for the public-private partnerships required to accomplish projects like this, and the folks in Plymouth will have over 100 more affordable homes that will make a notable difference in the lives of the individuals and families who live here."...
“Building the housing Wisconsin needs requires innovation, investment, and collaboration. Partnerships like this demonstrate what’s possible when the public and private sectors work together toward the shared goal of creating affordable workforce housing in communities across our state,” said WHEDA CEO & Executive Director Elmer Moore, Jr.
Leo's notes: The $3.4 million Infrastructure Access Loan is significant, but the more consequential story is the dependence on multiple funding partners to deliver entry-level homes. The challenge is turning these successful partnerships into a scalable development model across Wisconsin. Big thanks to WHEDA’s infrastructure financing program!
What’s new in Wisconsin TIF: Key changes under Acts 173 and 235
Wisconsin’s 2025-2026 legislative session introduced notable updates to tax incremental financing (TIF), including targeted reforms to affordable housing tools and the creation of a new TIF district type to spur residential development.
2025 Wisconsin Act 173
Affordable Housing Extension Expanded. Municipalities can now extend a TIF district’s life by up to two years (a doubling of the previous one-year limit) to fund costs benefiting affordable housing. All other statutory requirements to implement the extension remain unchanged..
2025 Wisconsin Act 235
Creation of Residential TIDs. Act 235 authorizes a new TID type that allows newly platted residential development without the 35% area cap in Mixed-Use districts.
Development in a Residential TID must meet the following requirements:
- Limited to owner-occupied, single-family or two-family residences.
- Lot sizes for single-family residences may not exceed 7,500 square feet, with a maximum lot width of 70 feet and a maximum 10-foot side yard setback.
- Lot sizes for two-family residences may not exceed 12,500 square feet, with a maximum lot width of 80 feet and a maximum 10-foot side yard setback.
- No single-story residence can be larger than 1,500 square feet.
- No two-story residence can be larger than 2,000 square feet...
Leo's notes: For Wisconsin's smaller and rural communities, residential TIF could help close the gap between housing demand and what projects actually cost to build. But the real test isn't whether communities gain another financing tool—it's whether they can use it to deliver starter homes, duplexes, and missing-middle housing at prices local workers can afford, without relying on large-scale developments to make the numbers work.
Why is affordable housing so difficult?
Why is affordable housing so difficult?
Affordable housing is an issue we hear about frequently — not just in Eagle River, but across Wisconsin and the country. Employers need workers, families need places to live, and many people who work in our community find that the cost of housing can be difficult to manage.
So a reasonable question is: What is the city doing about affordable housing?
The answer is more complicated than it may seem.
The City of Eagle River previously had an Affordable Housing Committee that spent considerable time discussing workforce and affordable housing. The committee ultimately stopped meeting about a year or so ago because, despite the interest and effort, we could not identify a workable solution that would make new affordable housing financially feasible given the current cost of construction....
...Full Story Here
Leo’s notes: We must shift the conversation from funding individual affordable housing projects to addressing the underlying economics that make modest, workforce-oriented housing difficult to build.
Wisconsin Housing Preservation Corp.: To celebrate groundbreaking for Prairie Haus Senior in New Glarus
NEW GLARUS, Wis., Oct. 14, 2026 — Wisconsin Housing Preservation Corp. (WHPC) will celebrate the groundbreaking of Prairie Haus Senior on Tuesday, October 20, at 3 p.m. Located at 1003 Elmer Road in New Glarus, the new senior housing development will add 50 rental apartments for adults age 55 and older, expanding housing options in Green County. The development is anticipated to open in mid-summer 2027.
With a projected cost of $10.8 million, the three-story development will include 35 one-bedroom and 15 two-bedroom apartments. Of the 50 units, 30 will be market-rate rentals and 20 will be income-restricted for households earning up to 60% of the area median income (AMI)...
Leo's notes: Senior housing is often overlooked in Wisconsin's workforce housing conversation, yet the two are closely connected. Prairie Haus Senior will add 50 mixed-income apartments, including 20 income-restricted units, to New Glarus. The project illustrates how senior housing can contribute to a broader local housing strategy, although its effect on existing home availability will depend on whether residents move from homes within the community.
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.
Leo@WWHNews.com
List of Housing Resources
CheqBUILT - Chequamegon Bay United Impact Land Trust
WRA Wisconsin Housing Statistics
State of Wisconsin Department of Administration Neighborhood Investment Fund (NIF) Program
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
DANE WORKFORCE HOUSING FUND
Dane County Regional Housing Strategy (RHS)
A Housing Hurdle: Demographics Drive Need for More Homes
Wisconsin Homeowners Alliance
WRA’s “Falling Behind” report
Social Development Commission - Pathway to success
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ALLIANCE
Middleton Workforce Housing Committee
Milwaukee’s Collective Affordable Housing Strategic Plan
Workforce Housing Initiative For Wisconsin
2020 Symposia Series on Workforce Housing
Wisconsin Homeowners Alliance.org/resources/
City of Milwaukee Affordability Report
WHEDA Qualified Allocation Plan
10-Year Plan to End Homelessness
City of Milwaukee Consolidated Plan
Wisconsin Consolidated Plan
SEWRPC Regional Housing Plan
Wisconsin Policy Forum Reports
Blueprint for a Renters Bill of Rights
White House Fact Sheet on Rental Affordability
Community Economic Development / Division of Extension
Oshkosh Kids Foundation Tiny House Village