With Housing Shortage, Wisconsin Communities, Developers Look to Closed Schools – Wisconsin Public Radio News

As communities around Wisconsin look for solutions to the housing shortage, some developers are transforming shuttered schools into apartments.

Since 2017 communities and developers are seeking state grants or tax credits to redevelop about 20 former school buildings. Others have used a mix of funding to redevelop vacant schools across the country.

In the village of Randolph, D.C., a former school building will be converted into 31 market-rate and affordable apartments. The community of nearly 1,800 residents is receiving a $250,000 grant for the project from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, or WEDC.

Village President Ken Ireland said one of the community’s biggest needs is senior housing. He said some older residents may want to downsize and rent apartments or buy co-ops.

“You need housing that’s more senior-friendly, which isn’t available,” Ireland said. “They’re staying in their homes, so then there’s not that turnover of available workforce housing because there’s nothing available for those looking for a smaller home.”

In September, the village entered into an agreement with developer Obsidian Estates. Most of the new apartments will be offered at a below-market price. The project is estimated to cost about $1.5 million. The WEDC review indicated that the renovations could not proceed without financial assistance.

Missy Hughes, secretary and CEO of WEDC, said government grants often bridge the gap when traditional funding is unavailable.

“They provide the community and developers with capital that doesn’t have to be repaid and helps mitigate some of the risk in the project,” Hughes said.

Communities are exploring vacant assets to find solutions to the housing crisis

Hughes said he believes the agency has seen more requests for state aid for similar projects. She expects this to continue as communities look for solutions to meet housing demand.

Many communities have been left with vacant buildings as districts have closed schools in recent years due to ongoing challenges with declining enrollment and state aid that has not kept pace with inflation.

WEDC provides grants for community development and redevelopment of unused sites, as well as tax credits for the restoration of historic buildings. Over the past few years, the public-private agency has pointed to grants that have helped offset the cost of converting school buildings into housing in Ladysmith, Mayville and Arena.

A spokesman for the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA) said it has provided funding to support the redevelopment of 13 schools since 2017. this way.

WHEDA provided tax credits for school-to-housing projects in Sparta and Milwaukee, including the McKinley School Lofts and the Edison School Apartments.

Developers in Oshkosh have also converted Smith Elementary School into low-income housing, and efforts are underway to convert six shuttered schools in Kenosha into a potential housing complex.

Most recently, the Superior City Council approved a development agreement with Lake Superior Apartments to convert the former Lake Superior Elementary School into a 50-unit apartment building. The city creates a tax increment district to help pay for building improvements through tax increment financing, a method of financing redevelopment projects.

Superior seeks housing for ‘missing environment’

Under the Superior deal, the developer will receive a $300,000 grant from the city’s redevelopment authority, as well as a $500,000 loan from the city’s affordable housing fund. The developer can also receive up to about $1 million in tax increment subsidies.

Senior Mayor Jim Payne said 23 units will be rent-restricted, meaning they will be rented to tenants who make less than the area median income. The project attempts to provide housing for what has been called the “missing environment”. Payne said these units target people who are not living in poverty but may not be able to afford market-rate housing.

“We’re actually investing in the accessibility aspect,” Payne said. “We’re targeting the actual cost of rent in these buildings and holding it down, holding it down so that a few more people have access to these apartments than they otherwise could.”

Last year, a report by the Wisconsin Policy Forum found that the median sales price of homes rose by more than half, while median household income rose just 19.7 percent since 2017. until 2022 Meanwhile, the share of renters paying more than 30 percent of their income on housing rose to 45.4 percent in 2022. Researchers cited the slow pace of housing construction amid rising housing demand.

A recent study found that the city of Superior, home to nearly 27,000 people, has a potential demand for more than 3,200 new housing units by 2035. Superior is far from alone. One analysis from 2022. found that the state needs to build up to 227,000 housing units by 2030 to keep up with demand, according to the research arm of the Wisconsin Association of Counties.

Gov. Tony Evers and lawmakers provided $525 million in the 2023-25 ​​state budget. to expand access to affordable housing by creating revolving loan funds and regulatory reforms designed to spur development.

Evers will unveil his plans for the state’s next biennial budget on Feb. 18.