Milwaukee Community Land Trust outlines countywide expansion, homeownership model for Shorewood

At a Shorewood Community Development Authority meeting, Lamont Davis, executive director of the Milwaukee Community Land Trust, described the trust’s countywide homeownership model and what it would mean for a village pilot program. Davis said the land trust now operates with nine board members and two staff and has expanded from city limits to serve Milwaukee County.

The presentation mattered because the land‑trust model preserves long‑term affordability by separating land ownership from home ownership and capping resale appreciation. Davis said the countywide approach is intended to create scale, deepen affordability and reduce administrative overhead compared with multiple small local trusts.

Davis described the organization and its staffing: “We are a very small organization. We have 9 board members. We have 2 staff. I’m the executive director,” and said the trust’s homeownership work also relies on a homeownership manager on staff. He said the trust began work in earnest after a Freddie Mac technical‑assistance grant and hired an executive director in October 2021.

On how the model works, Davis summarized the dual‑ownership structure: the trust typically acquires or partners on the land, conveys the home and improvements to the buyer, and retains title to the land under a long ground lease. He said, “The goal with the countywide land trust is really simple. It’s economy of scale. We wanna be more efficient.” He added: “For every unit that we create, it’s…