A year ago I wrote about the desperate need for housing in Green County, as reported in the then-newly released Housing Study by Southwest Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission.
According to that study, assuming nothing changes (i.e., no new larger employment opportunities), Green County should expect to need an additional 2,578 housing units by 2030. This includes 233 housing units in Belleville; 152 units in Brodhead; 522 units in Monroe; 38 units in Monticello; and 88 units in New Glarus.
These numbers are not unique to Green County. Throughout southwest Wisconsin, there is a need for housing. We have wonderful employers here with plenty of good jobs, but few places for new employees and their families to live. It makes it very difficult for our employers to recruit and retain a quality workforce.
Partners step up
The end of my article last June was a call to action. “Community and business leaders need to work together to take action on the recommendations in the study,” I wrote.
And they did! Southwest Community Action Program has teamed up with Dimension Development to create an innovative solution to incentivize single-family housing. They have graciously offered this opportunity to every community in southwest Wisconsin.
The Details
SWCAP has offered to be the applicant for Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA) tax credits to build single-family rental homes in a number of communities in southwest Wisconsin.
Rather than a WHEDA application for 80 units in ONE community, SWCAP will submit an application that covers a number of communities. For example, Brodhead may decide it needs 15 units, Monticello needs 10, Monroe needs 20, Dodgeville needs 15, and Potosi needs 10. We’ll work together with other communities in southwest Wisconsin and SWCAP to put that proposal together. Each community has the ability to decide what types of units it wants, but the basic model is three-bedroom, single-family houses of 1,100 square feet with a garage. Rent will be affordable to households earning up to 60% of the County Median Income ($46,140 for a family of four in Green County). Market rate units may also be included as desired by each community. The homes may also be designed to incorporate onsite licensed childcare to serve up to 8 children.
What does my community need to do?
Each community in Green County needs to make a decision whether it is interested in this opportunity. Interested communities need to identify a piece of land (approximately 3 acres per 20 homes), purchase or control the property, and ensure it is properly zoned for housing.
Southwest CAP would then work with all interested communities to have a formal Market Study completed. The WHEDA housing tax credit application will be submitted December 2020.
Each community will have the opportunity to structure the development in a way that best suits its needs. Some communities may already own land, others will purchase it. Dimension Development will help each community determine how financing for the property can be structured, and through that process, communities can determine the tradeoffs and cost benefits. Returns could be through property tax, local workforce retention, increased school enrollment, other community benefits, or a combination of these and other factors.
The model works
Using this same model, Dimension Development is currently working with the Dodge County Housing Authority to construct a $5.8 million development in Horicon with 20 wood frame three-bedroom duplex units of 1,152 square feet. The project is sited on 2.69 acres of vacant land and utilizes a “pocket neighborhood” site plan design, with all units featuring front porches and located around a shared green commons space to encourage interaction between neighbors.
This new community of three-bedroom homes will target family households, and it is expected that larger families with children will make up the majority of residents. Ideally located for families with children, the property is directly across the street from Horicon High School, junior high school, and the new Horicon Elementary School currently under construction. This adjacent location will allow all resident K-12 children to walk to school.
Return on investment
For a community investment of $25,000 for infrastructure improvements, Horicon will have 20 new family homes with a value of $5.5 million. (The land was already owned by the community.) Now that is a return on investment.
It will certainly take some work and number-crunching on the part of our communities, and the process is not immediate – homes built under SWCAP’s application would be built in 2022.
There’s a popular Chinese proverb that says, “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” Let’s plant some housing in Green County.
— Cara Carper is executive director at Green County Development Corporation. She can be reached at cara.gcdc@tds.net.
