End of the Year Program & Highlights!

Regional Housing News - December 2024

IN THE NEWS

Please Join Us!

Regional Housing Network (RHN) Meeting

Thursday, December 12, 3:00 – 4:00pm

Welcome spotlight!

Dane County Housing News

Investing at Record Levels

Latest Municipal Housing Activities

Partner Events, Housing in Demand!

Please Join Us!

December’s Regional Housing Network Meeting (RHN)

Thursday, December 12, 3:00 – 4:00pm

RHS Housing Checklist for Cities and Villages

Learn about the launch of the new “RHS Checklist and Evaluation Guide for Cities & Villages.” This guide has been created with the strategies and action items identified in the RHS specifically for cities and villages to help communities inventory and assess their housing efforts. Olivia Parry, Sr. Planner, will present.

Factory-Built & Modular Housing

Homeownership is out of reach for many Dane County residents because of low inventory and high housing costs. Two new strategies being used to address the high cost of housing include Modular and Factory Built Housing. Kahya Fox, Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity of La Crosse, will talk about how their organization is using a modular housing to expand affordable homeownership opportunities. Angie Diedrich, Deputy Director of the Wisconsin Housing Alliance, will be present on different types of factory-built housing. Don’t miss it!

Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/94310243246

Sustainability and Housing

Regional Housing Network Meeting (RHN)

Thursday, January 16, 3:00 – 4:00pm

Target audience: Renters, apartment owners, local government

Ready to address the shortage of EV charging stations in your neighborhood? Whether you are a tenant, apartment manager/owner or local government official, you might have noticed the shortage of public EV charging in your neighborhood. The good news is that the Office of Energy & Climate Change (OECC) got a federal grant to fill gaps in multifamily and rural charging.

Hear more about the opportunity and share your thoughts and ideas. OECC Director Kathy Kuntz will use the input she gets at this meeting to inform the process and help select EV charging locations.

Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/94310243246

Welcome spotlight!

Welcome to Loreen Gage! The City of Fitchburg just hired a new Housing Initiatives and Program Specialist, and she is already hard at work!

Loreen Gage joined the City of Fitchburg in July 2024 as Housing Initiatives & Programs Specialist, focusing on addressing housing-related challenges. Her experience includes working as a mortgage broker in her family’s business, serving as President of the Monona Grove School Board, and currently as a Cottage Grove Village Trustee. She also led efforts to secure stable housing for vulnerable populations as Client Services Director at Housing Initiatives and Resident Assistant Manager at Movin’ Out.

Originally from Milwaukee, Loreen lives in Cottage Grove and is the proud mom of three daughters, aged 21, 19, and 15.

Dane County Housing Highlights

2025 Budget – Dane County is investing in housing at record levels for 2025. The Affordable Housing Fund allocation was raised to 20 million, from 15 million in 2024 budget. An additional 2 million in funding is designated for the Madison Area Community Land Trust for land acquisition, and 8 million is allocated for RHS Action Item 1.5. Funding for outreach and education around housing; a new housing planner, as well as a new JFF social worker that can provide housing navigation services to residents outside the City of Madison, was also included in the budget.

2024 Affordable Housing Development Fund Awards - On November 22, the Dane County Board of Supervisors passed the recommendations for the 2024 awards. The awards fund ten projects that create 442 units of affordable housing. Awarded projects will generate 272 new units of affordable housing in the City of Madison, and 170 units in the communities of Monona, Stoughton and Verona. For more details on the projects, please go here.

How to Make Your Community More Welcoming to People of Color – For those of you who missed the RHN meeting in November and are interested in learning more about steps you can take to make your community more welcoming, you can find the presentation and video recording on the RHS website, link here.

CDBG/HOME Housing Awards – In 2025, down payment assistance, minor and major home repair, tenant based rental assistance, and homebuilding all received funding. For a list of 2025 award recipients, please go here.

Now Hiring – Dane County CDBG and Housing Clerk. To apply, go here:

Hop on the Metro this winter with the Dane County Regional Housing Strategy - Thanks to the Realtors Association of South-Central Wisconsin, RHS will be getting a little extra attention in December and January. If you get a glimpse, be sure to take a photo and send it to us at regionalhousing@danecounty.gov.

Municipal Housing News

City of Madison

Affordable Housing Fund

The City of Madison awarded 10 million dollars for new development that will add about 270 total units to Madison’s rental housing market, with 167 of them being income- and rent-restricted to those making not more than 60% of Dane County’s Median Income (e.g., $52,920 for a one-person household, or $68,040 for a three-person household). Of those 167 income- and rent-restricted units, 43 will be kept affordable for at least 40, while 124 of them will remain permanently affordable. For more details, go here.

Housing Rehab & Preservation Funding

Four developments were awarded 5.5 million for non-tax credit affordable housing to rehabilitate and preserve 152 income- and rent-restricted rental units for low- to moderate-income Madison families, see the press release here for more details.

City of Sun Prairie is doing a comprehensive update to their zoning code to be completed by the end of 2025.

City of Verona has just begun an update to their Comprehensive Plan and hope to have completed by early 2026.

Village of Oregon has a new mixed-use affordable housing development opening in December. Northpoint Development is a 58 multi-family unit project including 12 – 3-bedroom townhomes, and new commercial space. The development will serve residents who are 30%-80% of the Area Median Income (AMI). Dane County funding helped support the project.

Village of Waunakee has moved up their original date and will be doing a full update to their Comprehensive Plan in 2025, starting this winter, to be completed in 2026.

Village of Windsor recently completed their Comprehensive Plan 2050. You can find the whole plan here. The Vision and Recommendations are here.

Partner Events, Housing in Demand

Habitat for Humanity

In November, 100 spots for our Habitat Homeowner Information Class filled up within 30 minutes – a new record for Habitat. “The need for affordable housing in our community is greater than ever!” Hillary Parker, Habitat CEO.

Habitat is hosting a DOUBLE home dedication & open house on Wednesday, Dec. 11, in Oregon. Learn more and RSVP at https://habitatdane.org/homededication/.

Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce

On Wednesday, December 4, the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce and Zach Brandon hosted a breakfast meeting for their members who identified housing as the number one issue they wanted to address. Panelists Julia Silvina Arata-Fratta, Olivia Parry, Kurt Paulsen, Matt Wachter, Robert Proctor, and Helen Bradbury. Over 150 Chamber members attended the panel presentation at Elements Lab in Research Park.

Questions? Send an email to regionalhousing@danecounty.gov for questions or more info on the Dane County Regional Housing Strategy.

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