The Partnership’s Experience

The Partnership’s experience with workforce housing

• As a developer we have developed mixed-income sale and rental housing in Madison and Sun Prairie, we have a second mixed-income condominium project underway in Madison, we are engaged in joint ventures with Veridian Homes in Madison and Middleton, and we are exploring development opportunities in Milwaukee.
• Since 2003, we have been a consultant to the Middleton Workforce Housing Task Force, which has supported several development projects providing affordable workforce housing and created a down payment assistance program targeted to working families in need of affordable housing.
• In 2004-2005, we consulted with the Wisconsin Department of Commerce on a Workforce Housing Initiative designed to support the Governor’s economic development strategy.
• From 2000 to 2002,we were consultants to Dane County on creation and planning of its housing and community development program. In that role, we recommended creation of a public-private partnership, which took shape as the Workforce Housing Fund created by the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce. We have been advisers to the fund since its creation in 2003.
• Beginning in 2001, the Partnership collaborated with the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families, WISCAP and the Hudson Institute to research the work and housing situations of families in the W-2 program. Following publication of a report titled Making Housing Work for Working Families, we convened forums around the state to explore work and housing from an individual community perspective, and co-sponsored a statewide conference in 2002.

The Partnership’s history in brief

Created at the initiative of Governor Tony Earl in 1985, the Wisconsin Partnership for Housing Development expands access to affordable housing opportunities and revitalizes neighborhoods through partnerships among the public, nonprofit and private sectors.

We have:

• Developed or been development consultant for 800 homes.
• Provided training, technical assistance, and consulting services to more than 50 nonprofit and for-profit developers that have produced, rehabilitated or preserved as affordable more than 1,200 homes.
• Created and managed seven financing programs that provided over $65 million in debt and equity financing to develop, rehabilitate and make energy conservation improvements in more than 2,000 homes.
• Managed down payment assistance programs that have provided $19.6 million in down payment assistance to help more than 4,500 low and moderate income Wisconsin households buy homes.
• Using funding from the Housing Partnership Network, provided financial support for counseling to another 5,000 home buyers and over 400 renters.
• In our advocacy role, proposed and helped secure passage of legislation that has made almost $60 million in new state funds available for affordable housing.