Common Council President Jose Perez
Press Release

Rent-to-own initiative expanding on city’s near south side

A scattered-site project on the near south side of Milwaukee to renovate and transform vacant foreclosed homes into rent-to-own single-family homes is expanding, said Alderman José G. Pérez.

By - Jul 13th, 2012 04:45 pm

A scattered-site project on the near south side of Milwaukee to renovate and transform vacant foreclosed homes into rent-to-own single-family homes is expanding, said Alderman José G. Pérez.

The Layton Boulevard West Neighbors’ (LBWN) $5.8 million tax credit project provides a means to address the foreclosure crisis, which has had a devastating effect on Milwaukee neighborhoods. Alderman Pérez said the project – initially exclusively addressing vacant foreclosed homes in the 8th Aldermanic District (Alderman Bob Donovan) – will now also include properties in his 12th District.

“This initiative is good news for the 12th District because it will give new life to homes that have numerous code violations, deferred maintenance, and other issues,” Alderman Pérez said. “And at the end of the project, the near south side will have 24 completely renovated and energy efficient homes occupied by strictly screened tenants who will have the opportunity to enter into a lease-to-own agreement for the home they reside in.”

Alderman Pérez said the project is specifically using the goals, objectives and recommendations of the city’s Near South Side Comprehensive Plan and the recently completed Zilber Neighborhood Initiative’s Quality of Life Plan (for the LBWN and Clarke Square neighborhoods) for propose the project. The alderman said the LBWN project is the only one addressing vacant foreclosed homes in Milwaukee’s near south side neighborhoods.

LBWN is working with Impact Seven, Inc. and Wisconsin Redevelopment to carry out this project. Impact Seven is a nonprofit developer and certified Community Development Financial Institution, which manages several Small Business Administration (SBA) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) loan programs, provides venture capital, and is part-owner of a community development bank, started in conjunction with a partner community development corporation (CDC).

Impact Seven is one of the largest non-profit developers of affordable housing in Wisconsin and manages 1,019 units. As a consultant and developer, Impact Seven has helped numerous communities make significant strides towards revitalizing sagging economies and dwindling populations. Wisconsin Redevelopment’s principals have extensive experience in tax credit and affordable housing creation, having developed or consulted on more than 600 housing units and more than $75 million in City of Milwaukee redevelopment activities including award winning developments like King Drive Commons, King Heights, Riverwalk Plaza, Mitchell Market Lofts and Johnson Park Lofts.

Anyone interested in leasing one of the homes is encouraged to contact Tim Hoye at Layton Blvd West Neighbors — 414-383-9038 (x2518) or email: tim@lbwn.org.

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.

Leave a Reply

You must be an Urban Milwaukee member to leave a comment. Membership, which includes a host of perks, including an ad-free website, tickets to marquee events like Summerfest, the Wisconsin State Fair and the Florentine Opera, a better photo browser and access to members-only, behind-the-scenes tours, starts at $9/month. Learn more.

Join now and cancel anytime.

If you are an existing member, sign-in to leave a comment.

Have questions? Need to report an error? Contact Us