Gov. Evers Announces More Than $17.2 Million in Community Development Block Grant Housing Awards

MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers today announced more than $17.2 million in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Housing awards were provided to regional housing authorities across the state. These funds will help low- and moderate-income families in Wisconsin purchase a home or make critical repairs to their homes.

“For so many hardworking Wisconsinites across our state, home ownership is a measure of personal success and growth for their families,” said Gov. Evers. “It’s a tool that helps them put down roots, find financial stability, and build generational wealth for those who come after them. By helping folks buy homes or make important repairs to their current homes, these grants will help more families and individuals have a safe place that they are proud to call home.”

Administered by the Wisconsin Department of Administration (DOA), Wisconsin’s CDBG Small Cities Housing Program provides housing rehabilitation funds to seven regions on a biannual basis. These regional housing programs provide zero percent interest, deferred payment loans to low- and moderate-income households for down payment assistance when purchasing a home.

Today’s announcement comes as a new report from the nonpartisan Wisconsin Policy Forum underscored racial disparities in homeownership across Wisconsin, specifically in the state’s five largest cities, and that Wisconsin’s racial gaps in homeownership for Black and Hispanic families are larger than the national average. This report also found that these gaps have grown over the last decade.

“These programs are a critical piece of expanding safe housing and stability for many Wisconsin residents,” said DOA Secretary-designee Kathy Blumenfeld. “We’re proud to continue working with our regional and local partners on the Community Development Block Grant program.”

Regional CDBG Housing awards were made across the state, totaling $17,250,000, including:

• $2 million in Douglas County in the Northwest Housing Region;
• $3 million in Langlade County in the Northwoods Housing Region;
• $3 million in Juneau County in the Central Housing Region;
• $2.5 million in Columbia County in the Southern Housing Region;
• $1.7 million in Brown County in the Northeast Housing Region;
• $2.5 million in La Crosse County in the Southwest Housing Region; and
• $2.5 million in Chippewa County in the West Central Housing Region.

Wisconsin receives CDBG funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and distributes the funds toward public facility, housing, and economic development projects that benefit folks with low to moderate incomes.

The Wisconsin DOA Division of Energy, Housing, and Community Resources administers Wisconsin’s CDBG Small Cities Housing Program. More information is available on the CDBG Small Cities Housing Program website.

An online version of this release is available here.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.