Regional Housing News - January 2025

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IN THE NEWS


Housing Strategy Spotlight:

Home Repairs & Rehabilitation

 

Upcoming RHN Programming – JOIN US!

Sustainability and Housing – Thursday, January 16, 3:00 – 4:00pm

Energy Efficiency and Housing – Thursday, February 13, 3:00-4:00pm

 

WEDC Workshop Series –

Downtown Residential Development


NEW Medicaid Housing Support Services Benefit



RHS Housing Strategy Spotlight


Home Repairs & Rehabilitation


To address the housing crisis, preserving existing housing stock in addition to building new housing units are necessary. It is important that we do not lose existing units to ensure our housing stock continues to grow. Owner-occupied single-family home repairs and rehabilitation are an important part of housing preservation that can help to mitigate the county’s housing shortage.


New construction units tend to be higher-cost and out-of-reach for lower-income households, resulting in a need to maintain and preserve existing units. Moderate- and lower-income homebuyers often purchase older homes, which causes these households to need more support for costly rehabilitation and repairs to sustain their investment. Preservation of these homes is also important because most existing housing units in Dane County are single-family homes (59%).


One of the five Housing Priorities identified in the RHS Strategic Action Plan is the need to rehabilitate and preserve affordability of existing housing, including homeownership units. This priority calls for a variety of Strategies and Action Items needed to achieve this goal, including the expansion and creation of loan funds or grants for home renovations, maintenance, and rehabilitation. Some municipalities and agencies have already begun taking on this work. Here are a few examples of home repair and rehab programs available to Dane County residents:


Project Home – Serves the City of Madison and most Dane County municipalities outside of Madison with both a Minor Home Repair grant program and a Major Home Repair loan program. They also offer free Home Maintenance & Improvement Education classes to support homeowners.


Village of Waunakee – The Village has the Waunakee Housing Betterment Fund (WHBF) program to help residents make improvements to the existing housing stock. It awards 1:1 matching grant reimbursements between $2,000 and $10,000 in housing repair costs.


City of Monona – Monona has a housing stock renewal loan program called Renew Monona Loan Program for the city’s homeowners, offering low interest loans (2%) for qualifying projects.


In addition to home repair and rehab, there are a number of energy efficiency housing programs that we will feature in an upcoming newsletter. As always, please reach out to us at regionalhousing@danecounty.gov with any questions!

Looking Back, Looking Forward


Click each of the links below to view the RHS Fact Sheets published in 2024 - and stay tuned for many more fact sheets coming in 2025, including Affordable Housing 101, Housing Financing, Housing Demand, and more!

RHS Fact Sheet

Missing Middle Housing Fact Sheet

Zoning 101 Fact Sheet


Upcoming Regional Housing Network (RHN) Programming

Please Join Us!


Sustainability and Housing

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



Energy Efficiency and Housing

Thursday, February 13, 3:00 - 4:00pm

Target Audience: Residents, local government, elected officials


Please join us to learn about efforts in Dane County to make energy efficiency upgrades to our existing housing stock! We will hear from Claire Oleksiak, Executive Director at Sustain Dane, and Abigail Corso, Chief Strategy Officer at Elevate about their programs and partnerships with municipalities to make energy efficiency upgrades happen in Dane County. You don't want to miss this informative program!


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

Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) Training Series:

Downtown Residential Development FREE Virtual Workshops


Please consider attending any or all of WEDC's series of virtual workshops exploring a variety of topics related to downtown residential development! The series offers workshops on the following topics:


Architectural Assessment & Building Codes - Feb. 5, 8:30-10:30 a.m.

Register Here


Understanding the Numbers - Feb. 6, 8:30-10:30 a.m.

Register Here


Welcoming Residents to Downtown - Feb. 7, 8:30-10:30 a.m.

Register Here


Economic Vitality 101 - Feb. 11, Noon-1 p.m.

Register Here


Upper Floor Housing with WHEDA - Feb. 12, Noon-1 p.m.

Register Here


Sign Up For Monthly Housing Updates — Get the Regional Housing News


NEW Medicaid Housing Support Services Benefit

Starts February 1, 2025


 Read the below flyer to learn about the BRAND NEW housing support services being offered to qualifying Medicaid beneficiaries, and click here for more information!

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