Developers face long odds for housing money

Published: November 9, 2009
Tags: affordable housing, apartments, Community Development Advocates LLC, developer, Housing Trust Fund, Kathryn Berger, Milwaukee, nonprofit, United Methodist Children’s Services of Wisconsin Inc.

Matt Ameen, of Donovan & Jorgenson Inc., New Berlin, works Thursday on the Washington Park Apartments project, 3940 W. Lisbon Ave., Milwaukee. General contractor TL Reese Corp., Milwaukee, is working with subcontractors to have Milwaukee residents perform more than half of the hours worked on the project. (Photo by Kat Berger)

By Sean Ryan
sean.ryan@dailyreporter.com

Milwaukee housing groups are not bothering to apply for Milwaukee Housing Trust Fund grants because there’s not enough money to justify the effort.

The program has less than $1 million, which means any application faces long odds. The available money is enough to help about three housing projects in the city.

“More resources are needed to fill the gaps on these projects because they are important,” said Kathryn Berger, senior program officer for the Local Initiative Support Corp. of Milwaukee, a group that supports nonprofit housing developers. “I think we need to have more conversation as to what is the right type of project for the Housing Trust Fund.”

The trust fund was designed to offer grants to affordable-housing projects in the city that do not have enough financing. The city budget fuels the trust fund, but budget cuts in 2009 and 2010 mean the program will maintain its annual pace of receiving $400,000.

When the trust fund was created in 2006, supporters wanted the city to set aside $1 million a year. The city borrowed money to start the program with $5 million.

The Allied Churches Teaching Self-Empowerment Community Development Corp. was one group that chose not to apply for money. The group offers a $3,000 revolving loan program for home repair projects, said Carl Quindel, executive director of the Milwaukee-based nonprofit.

Quindel said he did not apply for trust fund grants this year because the city program has limited resources, and what little money is there should be spent on projects that provide housing and services for people with disabilities. Those projects need public subsidies more than his program does, he said.

“We just felt, ‘Why kind of compete with those types of projects for limited funds?’” he said.

The city this year received 15 applications requesting a total of $3.1 million from the trust fund. Last year, the city received 26 applications for $4.9 million.

The United Methodist Children’s Services of Wisconsin Inc. is requesting $240,000 in trust fund money this year because the group’s projects create jobs for local residents. United Methodist is nearly done with the Washington Park Apartments project, which created jobs for 28 people living in the area, and wants to use the next round of money to start a $5.4 million apartment and townhouse project.

FOR A SLIDESHOW FROM THE WASHINGTON PARK APARTMENTS PROJECT, VISIT THE HOME PAGE AT DAILYREPORTER.COM

“You got to look at broad community impacts; not just the building that is getting put up,” said Teig Whaley-Smith, community development consultant with Milwaukee-based Community Development Advocates LLC, which is consulting on United Methodist projects.

Quindel said he may apply for Housing Trust Fund support in the future if there is more money available and less demand from other community groups whose budgets are tighter than his.

“Obviously, we could use subsidies,” he said. “We could help with our initiative and our model.”