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!