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Wausau committee approves Habitat partnership and sale of 727 Jefferson for affordable home
Summary
The Wausau Economic Development Committee approved a partnership with Habitat for Humanity to use Community Development Block Grant funds to enable a Habitat-built modular home and the purchase of city-owned 727 Jefferson Street.
The Wausau Economic Development Committee on March 4 approved a partnership with Habitat for Humanity that would use Community Development Block Grant funds to purchase a modular home and sell city-owned 727 Jefferson Street to Habitat for placement and rehabilitation.
The item, presented by Tammy Struts, city staff member, said the city could apply CDBG funds to buy a modular unit and Habitat would purchase the Jefferson parcel and handle construction and site work. “We think it’s very achievable for us to be able to have a family in that home by the end of the year,” Tiffany Arnold, executive director of Habitat Wausau, told the committee.
John Evans, board president of Habitat Wausau, described the organization’s local track record and incremental tax benefits when vacant lots are developed: “We have 74 and 75 being built at area high school trade classes and this proposal would be 76,” he said, adding that roughly 46 of Habitat’s recent homes have been sited inside the city of Wausau.
Tammy Struts told the committee the partnership grew out of an earlier, unsuccessful bid process for a modular home on Bridge Street and that Habitat contacted city staff with an alternative approach. Committee members and Habitat representatives discussed cost differences: the packet showed a modular-home base price around $140,000 and other site and finishing work had previously pushed total project estimates closer to $300,000; Habitat representatives said volunteer labor and donated services reduce that total. Committee members also discussed design sensitivity for the neighborhood and asked to see examples of finished homes included in the packet.
Alder Henke moved approval; Alder Tierney seconded. The committee recorded a voice vote in favor with no opposition, and the motion passed.
The partnership is structured as a pilot for one year with the potential to expand if the pilot proves successful, city staff said. Habitat and city staff said their aim is to place a second Habitat home in the same neighborhood later this year if timelines and site logistics allow.
