5 Milwaukee Affordable Housing Projects Vying For State Funds
The projects are among 39 projects statewide seeking tax credits.
St. Matthews Lofts rendering. Rendering by Engberg Anderson Architects.
Five proposed Milwaukee affordable housing developments are vying for competitively awarded low-income housing tax credits to enable their construction.
The proposals, part of a group of 39 statewide, include a new building at Midtown Center, a redevelopment of a shuttered nursing home, new senior apartments in Bay View, a redevelopment of the building used for the Milwaukee County City Campus offices (and formerly Doctor’s Hospital) and the development of new housing around St. Matthew C.M.E. Church.
The Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority will announce what projects are selected in May.
The credits are the most common tool used in Wisconsin to create federally-defined affordable housing. Receipt of the credits requires developers to set aside a pre-determined number of units at a discounted rate for households making less than a specified income (often 60% of the area median). Rental prices are set via a formula and targeted to match 30% of a household’s income.
Winning a credit allocation serves as the key financing component to a development, but a groundbreaking is typically about two years away as development teams regularly sell the credits to institutional investors, secure additional financing and finalize project designs.
The Midtown Center proposal, known as Midtown Commons, would involve developing 100 apartments on a vacant lot next to the shuttered Walmart, 5825 W. Hope Ave. A proposal to convert that property into a self-storage complex was rejected in 2023. A zoning change would be necessary to enable the development.
The Bay View proposal calls for developing 100 apartments for seniors by demolishing three homes built on deep lots. The houses were long owned by an affiliate of Klement’s Sausage, but sold to Hintz Holdings in 2023 when the company purchased the former Klement’s plant across the street. The houses, 2318, 2324 and 2332 S. Austin St., have been boarded up in recent months. The properties, which total 47,000 square feet, are already zoned RM6, which would accommodate the desired unit count.
The City Campus proposal calls for redeveloping the remaining unused portions of the complex, owned by Rick Wiegand for the past decade. Wiegand has developed Concordia 27 across Wells Street to the north and is pursuing the sale of the former Wisconsin Avenue School to the south to Advocate Aurora Health. The latest plan for the City Campus building calls for Milwaukee Development Corporation to lead a 100-unit redevelopment of the nine-story structure. A zoning change would be required to advance the proposal.
St. Matthew C.M.E. Church, 2944 N. 9th St., would see 50 units for seniors developed in a five-story building and 10 side-by-side townhomes on lots surrounding the church. A zoning change for the project was granted in 2023.
One of the more unusual projects proposed is the redevelopment of the former Wellspring of Milwaukee nursing home, 9350 W. Fond du Lac Ave. The 185-bed building has been vacant since 2019. A New York-based entity called 9350 W. Fond LLC acquired the property for $446,300 last April, half the price it sold for in 2023. The property’s zoning, RM1, and its size suggests it could accommodate the planned development density of 65 units without a zoning change or variance.
WHEDA uses an annual competitive process to award the credits. This year’s applications, as in past years, exceeded the amount of available federal credits. Projects are scored on a point system according to the state agency’s “qualified allocation plan,” which incentivizes setting aside units for the lowest-income individuals, proximity to jobs and availability of supportive services.
The 2025-2026 qualified allocation plan introduces an initial acceptance process. Instead of submitting a full application from the start, developers first submit a conceptual plan and are either rejected for accepted and allowed to submit a full application. Initial acceptance does not indicate that credits are guaranteed, with projects still subject to being placed on hold or ruled ineligible.
Two different grant programs exist. One provides a 9% federal tax credit and the other provides a 4% federal and 4% state income tax credit. WHEDA administers both programs. In 2024, four Milwaukee projects won tax credits.
For 2025 10 Milwaukee projects applied and five were not advanced beyond the conceptual round in 2025. The rejections could have occurred for a host of reasons, including that more applications were submitted in the Milwaukee area than credits were available. Below are the five projects accepted, part of the 39 accepted statewide and below the five accepted are the five Milwaukee projects that were rejected.
Accepted Projects
St. Matthew’s Senior Housing
- Developer: Cupid Development
- Units: 50 (50 Affordable)
- Type: New construction (Elderly)
- Location: 2944 N. 9th St.
- Program: 9% Federal
- Credit Request: $923,295
- More information
Triangle Apartments
- Developer: 9350 W. Fond LLC
- Units: 65 (65 Affordable)
- Type: Adaptive Reuse
- Location: 9350 W. Fond du Lac Ave.
- Program: 9% Federal
- Credit Request: $1.2 million
2711 W Wells
- Developer: Milwaukee Development Corporation
- Units: 100 (100 Affordable)
- Type: Adaptive Reuse (Elderly)
- Location: City Campus, 2711 W. Wells St.
- Program: 4% Federal, 4% State
- Credit Request: $1,566,093 (Federal), $874,388 (State)
Midtown Commons
- Developer: Wisconsin Preservation Fund, Gorman & Company, One 5 Olive
- Units: 100 (100 Affordable)
- Type: New Construction)
- Location: 5825 W. Hope Ave.
- Program: 4% Federal, 4% State
- Credit Request: $1,525,825 (Federal), $915,905 (State)
Austin Commons
- Developer: Northernstar Companies
- Units: 100 (100 Affordable)
- Type: New Construction (Elderly)
- Location: Former Klement’s-owned houses on 2300 block of S. Austin St.
- Program: 4% Federal, 4% State
- Credit Request: $1,063,801 (Federal), $797,851 (State)
Not Accepted Projects
633 Wisconsin
- Developer: J. Jeffers & Co.
- Units: 214 (214 Affordable)
- Type: Adaptive Reuse
- Location: Clark Building, 633 W. Wisconsin Ave.
- More information
Urban Oasis
- Developer: A Solution Group CDC, Catalyst Construction, Metcalfe Park Community Bridges
- Units: 90 (90 Affordable)
- Type: Adaptive reuse
Cudahy Farms Phase 1
- Developer: Royal Capital Group
- Units: 212 (212 Affordable)
- Type: New Construction
- Location: 9050 N. Swan Rd.
- More information
Calvary Site Renewal
- Developer: Calvary Housing Management Ltd, KG Development
- Units: 36 (36 affordable)
- Type: New Construction
- Program: 9% Federal
600 @ Bronzeville
- Developer: Thirty Six Blocks, Haywood Group
- Units: 42 (38 affordable)
- Type: Adaptive Reuse/New Construction
- Program: 9% Federal
- Location: 600 W. Walnut St.
- Based on project size, description and existing ownership, the development appears to involve the main building at Central City Plaza.
Existing members must be signed in to see the interactive map. Sign in.
If you think stories like this are important, become a member of Urban Milwaukee and help support real, independent journalism. Plus you get some cool added benefits.
