Milwaukee County grants $4.2 million for Habitat for Humanity homeownership initiative

Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity CEO Brian Sonderman announced Tuesday Milwaukee County will give $4.2 funds stemming from American Rescue Plan Act grants to build 80 affordable homes in the King Park, Midtown and Harambee neighborhoods. The county will also fund Milwaukee-based Emem Group to build 40 rental units in the form of 20 duplexes in King Park.

The sum was a “down payment” for Habitat’s priorities, which were to address the housing crisis in Milwaukee and help close the racial disparity gap between homeowners, Sonderman said in front of county officials, donors and volunteers.

The initiative aligned with the goals of the Community Development Alliance’s (CDA) plans, Sonderman noted. Habitat plans to double the number of families it serves by 2028, he added.

Milwaukee Habitat built 20 new homes in 2022 and plans to double new homes built to 40 by 2028, Habitat officials said. The nonprofit wants to consistently build or rehab more than 30 homes per year on the way, officials added.

The CDA surveyed residents and found high demand for home ownership as landlords bought up local properties and used residential input to come up with housing development plans, CDA Chief Alliance Executive Teig Whaley-Smith said at a news conference.

“What we found is (residents) are screaming for home ownership. They’ve seen what has happened in their neighborhoods with outside landlords buying up 40% of the properties. They see the majority of homes built are 80 or 90 years old, and no new homes have been built for their kids, grandkids and great grandkids. You have four generations forced to live in the same home because they haven’t built the inventory. And they’re sick of rental. They want the same opportunities to build generational wealth,” Whaley-Smith added.

Dispersing funding to housing efforts helped play into the county’s goal to achieve racial equity, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley said. He said the project would “shape the future” of the neighborhood.

“(The project) will not only provide affordable housing but will also uplift the lives of families throughout Milwaukee County, business owners and others who call this part of the county homes,” Crowley said at the news conference.

Milwaukee-based real estate firm Emem Group will develop 20 duplexes which will be available as rental units, a spokesperson for Milwaukee Habitat told The Daily Reporter. Those duplexes will be sold to Milwaukee Habitat 15 years later, the spokesperson added.

The project will be financed mostly with federal tax credits, Milwaukee County and philanthropic partners for below market rate for families, Emem noted.

In addition to building homes in King Park, Sonderman said Habitat will build ranch homes in Midtown.

Milwaukee County received $7.5 million from the Wisconsin Department of Administration (DOA) Neighborhood Investment Fund this year, according to DOA records.

The county directed $6 million in ARPA funds towards affordable housing, and $4.2 million went to Milwaukee Habitat to build 80 single family homes and $1.8 million went to Emem Group to build 20 duplexes for affordable rentals, a spokesperson for Milwaukee Habitat told The Daily Reporter.

Partners such as Bader Philanthropies, SC Johnson Controls, Komatsu, MGIC, Wells Fargo, Milwaukee Tools and Sargento each committed to giving at least $100K this year, Sonderman added.

As previously reported by The Daily Reporter, Habitat will build nine houses on the same block in Milwaukee’s Harambee neighborhood.

Editor’s note: A previous version of this story reported that Milwaukee County gave $6 million directly to Milwaukee Habitat. The county directed $4.2 million to Milwaukee Habitat and the rest went to Emem Group.

A previous version of this story reported that Emem Group would be the sole developer for the project of 80 homes and 20 duplexes. Emem Group will be the developer to build only the 20 duplexes and won’t be involved in building 80 single-family homes.