Crowley Backs More Suburban Affordable Housing

Rendering of 17-unit affordable housing development at 4800-4818 N. Santa Monica Blvd. Rendering by Zimmerman Architectural Studio.

The Milwaukee County Housing Division is planning to invest approximately $6.6 million in additional suburban affordable housing projects.

Milwaukee County policymakers created a fund for suburban affordable housing in 2022 using approximately $15 million in federal funding received through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). Historically, the county’s suburban communities have been averse to affordable housing projects. Housing officials are hoping to fund three projects in Whitefish Bay, Brown Deer and South Milwaukee, respectively.

“The production of additional rental homes is an economic mobility tool to allow families from diverse backgrounds to find homes in any Milwaukee County community they choose,” Housing Division Administrator James Mathy wrote in a report headed for the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors.

In March, County Executive David Crowley signed off on the first round of contracts for affordable projects using the new fund. To date, the county has awarded approximately 80% of the fund. The housing division plans to use the remainder of the original $15 million and pair it with federal Home Investment Partnership Program (HOME) funds for the latest round of financial support.

The three projects represent 133 units of affordable rental housing.

In Whitefish Bay, Spoerl Commercial, LLC, led by developer Brian Spoerl, is planning a three-story apartment building with 17 units at 4800-4818 N. Santa Monica Blvd. All 17 units will rented at affordable rates, which the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development defines as housing costs that add up to no more than 30% of a person’s income. The county would provide $2.9 million in ARPA funds and $232,329 of HOME funds to assist with financing for the project.

The site sits at the “gateway to Whitefish Bay” and is adjacent to the Oak Leaf trail and Estabrook Park, as well as a pharmacy. It’s also located on Milwaukee County Transit System Route 14, which runs between Bayshore and downtown Milwaukee.

In South Milwaukee, a 60-unit affordable apartment building is being developed by A.K. Development LLC at 2318 10th Ave. “A preference will be given to youth aging out of foster care for 15 of the units with on-site services provided,” the housing division reported. “These services would include case management, financial literacy, and employment services.”

The county would award approximately $2.5 million in HOME funding covering 11 of the 60 units in the project. The developer, Ariam Kesete, has experience rehabbing properties in Milwaukee and Minnesota and employing a rent-to-own model for her tenants.

In Brown Deer, the county would provide an additional $1 million in HOME funding to a project being developed by Jewish Family Services that already received approximately $2 million in ARPA funds earlier this year. This funding would support financing for 11 out of 56 affordable units planned at 4114 W. Woodale Ave. The project will carve out 14 units specifically for persons with disabilities.

The county executive and the county’s housing division have made affordable housing a priority policy for ARPA funds. Crowley has said housing is “a matter of public health” and that stable housing is critical to the county’s goal of racial equity.

The $6.6 million funding request will go before the board this month: first the Finance Committee, then the full board.