Innovative Development Combines Crisis Stabilization, Affordable Housing

Anthony Kazee (center) holding scissors, with County Executive David Crowley to his left and Frank Cumberbatch to his right. Photo taken Sept. 21, 2026 by Graham Kilmer.

A first-of-its-kind crisis housing facility for the Milwaukee area has opened in the city’s Uptown neighborhood.

KG Development Group recently finished redeveloping a former Jewish home at 2436 N. 50th St. into Phoenix Residential Apartments, a 31-unit affordable housing development with units set aside for individuals experiencing a crisis, whether that’s homelessness or domestic violence.

Developers Anthony Kazee and Jamie Gray, who lead KG Development, partnered with Milwaukee County to develop the project. The county provided approximately $1.3 million in funding to support the approximately $9 million redevelopment.

The county’s Housing Division is attaching housing vouchers to eight of the units, partially subsidizing the affordable rent. The division will also lease 10 crisis units to provide stabilization housing for individuals before they are moved to permanent housing.

KG Development had to stitch together 13 different sources of financing to make the project work, Kazee said at a ribbon-cutting ceremony Monday. The final piece, which allowed the project to be completed, came from Bader Philanthropies.

“It takes you know a village to make new deals happen,” Kazee said. “I’m just grateful that we’re able to get all these finance partners together in order to make this game happen.”

Jen Schomburg, president of St. Luke’s Medical Center and Aurora Southeast Wisconsin Area, said the new development will close a gap in the local system of care. Health care systems often have patients who are medically ready to be discharged, but do not have a stable place to go once they leave a hospital. “Without stable housing support, the risks of setbacks, complications, and repeat hospitalizations increase,” she said.

Bader, which provided critical gap financing for the project, has not often gotten involved in developing housing. Frank Cumberbatch, vice president of engagement, said the nonprofit realized this was a blind spot for the organization when it moved to King Drive in 2018. The organization, Cumberbatch said, understands that stable housing is the foundation needed to tackle the other social issues it is concerned with.

That idea is one that has driven the county’s response to housing insecurity and homelessness for more than a decade. The housing-first model uses housing to stabilize an individual experiencing homelessness and then connect them to other resources they may need for the long term, like mental health care or employment services. Housing is the primary social determinant of health for the county’s Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), said James Mathy, housing division administrator.

Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley‘s administration has driven millions in county, state and federal funds into affordable housing, including developments in nine suburbs, breaking down long-standing resistance to these affordable housing in these communities.

“We’re extremely proud — not just this project, but the many projects Milwaukee County has been able to invest in, in helping us buck the trend when it comes down to homelessness,” Crowley said at the event Monday, noting that the county continues to have one of the lowest unsheltered homeless populations per capita in the country. “Because without a roof over your head, it’s hard to focus on your mental health. Hard to focus on addiction, on education, or finding a better job. This is why this is so important.”

The Jewish Home building was originally constructed in 1929.

Construction Photos

Ribbon Cutting

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