The Uplands

Summary: The Partnership's news project, The Uplands, is a new subdivision on a 39.5-acre site within the City of Sun Prairie. Lots in Phase II of the project are now available for sale. Click here for details. A collaboration of three nonprofit corporations, the $21 million project was planned in accordance with Smart Growth principles and offers a range of housing choices including opportunities for home ownership, condominium living or rental. With a variety of home sizes, and with rents and sales prices affordable to a range of incomes, The Uplands is designed to foster true neighborhood diversity.

Wisconsin Partnership's role: Co-developer/CHDO TA provider

Staff contacts: Michael Heidkamp, Dave Porterfield

Status of work: Phase I completed; Phase II lots now available

The Uplands is an ambitious project sited in the City of Sun Prairie, just outside Madison. The 142 new homes, including 40 financed through the federal Low Income Housing Tax Credit program, are being constructed over a three-year period, with completion slated for 2006. At least half of the homes will be affordable to households with incomes at or below 80% of the county median income.

This project builds on the Partnership's success with Coachyard Square. It provides even more in terms of choices and potential for diversity. Besides producing homes affordable to people with a range of incomes, the development offers a variety of living situations including traditional home ownership, lower-cost home ownership, condominium living and rental homes affordable to working families. Single-family homes, duplexes and townhomes ranging in size from one to four bedrooms are available to both renters and home buyers. In addition, homes in the neighborhood are designed to accommodate all generations and physical abilities.

Smart Growth principles are central to the design of The Uplands. The neighborhood is compact, with an emphasis on green space, which includes an existing 13-acre natural area as well as a neighborhood park. Narrower streets with sidewalks, front porches and pedestrian/bicycle paths encourage resident interaction.

The Uplands site is located within a mile of Sun Prairie's central business district, which is undergoing a major revitalization. To ensure strong community linkages, local employers and the school district were consulted throughout the project planning phase. Focus groups with potential neighborhood residents also helped refine the neighborhood and housing design.

Funding sources for The Uplands include Associated Bank, the Cremer Foundation, Dane County CDBG, the Dane Fund (now Forward Community Investments), Enterprise Social Investment Corporation, Fannie Mae, Chicago Federal Home Loan Bank, First Business Bank, Home Savings Bank, the Housing Partnership Fund, Michigan Capital Fund for Housing (now Great Lakes Capital Fund), Mutual Savings Bank (now Bank Mutual), the Wisconsin Division of Housing, Sun Prairie Water and Light, and the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority.

The Uplands is a collaboration of three Dane County-based nonprofit corporations, with the Wisconsin Partnership as the developer. Movin' Out, Inc., and the Community Action Coalition for South Central Wisconsin, Inc. (CAC) are project co-sponsors. Movin' Out is an organization that creates opportunities for people with disabilities to secure housing of their choice, with an emphasis on home ownership. The CAC is a community action agency whose programs for low-income people include housing counseling, small business development and community gardens.