Crowley Signs First in State Housing Proposal

Crowley signs resolution funding crisis and affordable housing project. Photo by Graham Kilmer.

County Executive David Crowley signed legislation Monday providing $1 million for a novel affordable housing project in the city of Milwaukee Uptown neighborhood.

KG Development is planning an $8.8 million redevelopment of a former Jewish Home at 2436 N. 50th St. to create a mix of affordable housing and crisis housing, as Urban Milwaukee has reported. It is rare that these two types of shelter are put together in the same building, and officials believe it is the first time in the state’s history there has been a project like this.

The project will include 10 individual, crisis housing units in one wing of the building and 21 affordable-rate apartments in the other. The crisis housing will be available to anyone who is without shelter because they are experiencing a crisis, which could include homelessness or domestic violence. Though, the county’s Housing Division does not plan to limit what sort of crisis will qualify someone for the housing.

“One of the things we see all the time and the reason it’s called crisis housing, is oftentimes individuals are in a traumatic situation, and they need respite from that situation immediately; not tomorrow, not the day after that,” said Housing Division Administrator James Mathy. “So this will be one of the first ways we’ll able to pull somebody out of that crisis, give them immediate housing, and then link them to affordable housing throughout the entire process.”

The county is backing the project with $1 million in gap financing and the county’s Behavioral Health Services is planning to provide another $1 million in operations funding, Mathy said. The crisis wing will be staffed 24 hours a day. KG Development is also layering a number of other funding sources including historic tax credits and Low Income Housing Tax Credits. The county is also subsidizing the rent for eight of the affordable units with federal housing vouchers.

The project will “bridge the gap between housing insecurity and behavioral health needs,” County Executive Crowley said. “When folks are experiencing emergency housing situations and dealing with trauma this will be a safe accessible place for them to come to, and when people arrive support services and staff will be available here to help them heal, access resources and look to a brighter future.”

Sup. Shawn Rolland, who co-chaired the county’s ARPA Task Force, said the project was “one of the most innovative, creative, sustainable, strategic, impactful proposals” that the task force reviewed.

Anthony Kazee, a co-founder of KG Development, said the project was developed to better address the differing and complex needs of people facing housing insecurity.

“A stable home is just the foundation,” he said. “The true essence of our work lays in weaving a safety net that encompasses the varied, more complex needs essential for sustainable living.”

Providing individual crisis units will also allow the Housing Division’s street outreach teams to place more people experiencing homelessness in shelters. Mathy explained that often homeless individuals don’t want to go to congregant living facilities and shelters. Having an individual living space is “important for dignity and the privacy of individuals,” Mathy said.

The county executive noted that the project is yet another housing program backed by funding from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). The county has used ARPA funding to provide emergency rental assistance, support affordable housing developments in suburban communities and to develop 100 new homes in the King Park neighborhood for first-time homebuyers.