GREEN BAY - Shirley Kopatz was more than happy to offer an enthusiastic "woo-ha!" or two for affordable housing developments in her neighborhood.
From her South Roosevelt Street residence, Kopatz has watched City East Center rise three stories high on a long-vacant patch of East Walnut Street, two blocks from Green Bay East High School. MF Housing Partners, a partnership between Mosaic Property Ventures and FORE Development + Investment Group , broke ground on the combination affordable housing and new home for the Brown County United Way last spring and Kopitz said the community needs more affordable housing of this sort.
"I like that building," Kopatz said. "I think it's beautiful. It fits right in. I love it. Woo-ha!"
Local officials joined the developers to highlight City East Center during an April 18 visit from Tom Perez, a senior adviser to President Joe Biden and director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs. The $13 million development will add 43 apartments in the 1100 block of East Walnut Street with financial backing from the city of Green Bay, state of Wisconsin, federal government and Brown County United Way.
The high cost to finance and construct new housing means developers cannot charge the lower rents more working families can afford without public assistance. Rising costs have only made affordable housing development more challenging in the years after a 2020 Green Bay area housing market study found the region, by 2040, needs to add more than 3,700 units affordable to a working family of four that earns less than $30,000-per-year, almost 1,300 more units for families that earn between $49,000 and $79,000, and almost 3,400 market-rate apartments.
City East is not the only Green Bay-area affordable apartment development expected to welcome tenants this year. Four multifamily projects will add 396 total units in the city of Green Bay with 313 apartments for rent at lower rates to individuals who earn up to $41,175 and families that earn up to $58,800-per-year. The remaining units will be rented at rates closer to market rates.
Here's a look at what's coming and their tentative opening dates.
More: United Way report: One in 3 Green Bay area families struggle with financial hardships
City East Center
- Address: 1165 E. Walnut St.
- Total units : 43
- Affordable units : 36 for individuals that earn $41,175 or a family of four that earns $58,800
- Opening : August
Details : City East Center construction should be complete by July 31 and the group is already accepting applications for the building's one-, two- and three-bedroom units , said Marissa Downs, of MF Housing Partners.
City East Center also includes 5,000 square feet of first-floor space for the Brown County United Way, a key partner whose commitment was the last piece of the puzzle needed to move the project forward . The organization will move its offices to the space and create a " community house " where Navarino, Downtown, Joannes Park and Whitney Park residents can hold community meetings and nonprofits can provide services like mental health support or job skills training.
"In a few months, City East Center will open as a thriving heart of the neighborhood," said Robyn Davis, Brown County United Way CEO.
Bay City Lofts
![https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1IYi4n_0shOEl8j00](https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&url=1IYi4n_0shOEl8j00)
- Address: 2510 University Ave.
- Total units: 48
- Affordable units: 40 for individuals that earn $41,175 or a family of four that earns $58,800
- Opening: November
Details: After its original, west-side location got rejected , Madison-based Gorman & Co. and city officials approved relocating the building to a vacant lot in the 2500 block of University Avenue, east of Roethe Street.
The $15 million building will add affordable and accessible housing units thanks to tax incremental financing (TIF) and other financial assistance from the city and low-income housing tax credits awarded by the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA).
The Fort at the Rail Yard
![https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2IWjzV_0shOEl8j00](https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&url=2IWjzV_0shOEl8j00)
- Address: 419 Donald Driver Way
- Total units: 233
- Affordable units: 187 for individuals that earn $41,175 or a family of four that earns $58,800
- Opening: September
Details: Originally a market-rate housing project, construction stalled in fall 2020 after Indiana-based TWG Development lost a key source of project funding. The group in 2022 secured $18 million in low-income housing tax credits from WHEDA to resume construction and pivoted the project from market-rate to a mix of income-qualified and workforce housing units.
TWG now has a contact phone number , 920-305-0330, and an email, TheFort@twgdev.com , interested people can use to get ahold of the company. The company on Monday indicated it expects to begin pre-leasing activities shortly.
City Center Lofts
![https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3LDsl5_0shOEl8j00](https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&url=3LDsl5_0shOEl8j00)
- Address: 301 N. Adams St.
- Total units: 72
- Affordable units: 50 for individuals who earn less than $54,900 or families of four who earn less than $78,400
- Opening date: Summer
Details: Newly formed Green Bay nonprofit Gateway Collective in spring 2023 announced it would create a $16 million, 72-unit socially inclusive housing development on the second floor of the Baylake City Center building, 301 N. Adams St., in downtown. The project drew attention for its inclusion of 24 interior units that do not have windows on the building's exteriors, but instead will receive natural light via large skylights .
Christian Jensen, the group's director of development, said the project faced construction challenges and now plans a phased opening of the development with the first units expected to come online in early summer. The project has drawn a lot of interest, but the group is not signing leases yet. Jensen said those who want to know when units are available to lease can email the group's property manager at Maryk@bluefrogpm.com .
Contact Jeff Bollier at (920) 431-8387 or jbollier@gannett.com . Follow him on Twitter at @JeffBollier .
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Green Bay affordable housing: 4 projects on track to welcome renters in 2024
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