Big Steps for Housing Partnership

The Door County Housing Partnership’s three-bedroom, two-bathroom, 1,200-square-foot home is for sale in Sturgeon Bay for $130,000 for income-qualified buyers who are, or plan to be, year-round residents of Door County.

Organization offers first home for sale, support for Sister Bay lots

A housing project two decades in the making is finally coming to fruition – and picking up the pace.

The Door County Housing Partnership announced in July that its first home-build project is available for sale in Sturgeon Bay. The three-bedroom, two-bathroom, 1,200-square-foot home is for sale for $130,000 for income-qualified buyers who are, or plan to be, year-round residents of Door County. 

For Mariah Goode and the team behind the new organization, it’s the start of what they hope is something much bigger. 

“It’s exciting, obviously,” Goode said. “This is the third attempt at a housing-trust model up here, and we have to give credit to two groups prior to us that tried to start something like this that just weren’t able to get traction. We learned a lot from their work.”

Under the Housing Partnership’s model, the cost of building the home is subsidized to make up the gap between what a developer can build a home for and what those with a median household income can afford. That comes to roughly $100,000 per home in grants, donations and other funding, which allows the homes to be priced at a level that’s affordable to those who earn the area’s median household income. 

There are regulations in place for purchasers to ensure that the home remains in the affordable market. It can be purchased only by a person who meets specific income qualifications based on earning 120% of the median household income or less. Buyers may not already own another home in Door County or elsewhere, and they may not sublet the property without the approval of the Housing Partnership’s board. Plus, the home must be occupied by a resident for at least 10 months a year and may not be used as a short-term rental. 

Goode said interest in the first home has been high. 

“We’ve had about 20 inquiries so far, and six people have filed pre-applications,” she said. 

Many of the inquiries have come from people who said they would be interested in a home in northern Door County. For them, good news may be on the way.

On July 26, the Sister Bay Plan Commission recommended the village sell 10 lots to the Housing Partnership to develop affordable housing using the same model. The lots are located on Ava Hope Court and fell into village hands when a previous development by Keith Garot fell through. 

During the July plan commission meeting, chair Denise Bhirdo said that although she is a fan of Habitat for Humanity, she lamented that two homes that organization has built in the village have gone on to be sold out of the affordable housing stock on the open market. The Housing Partnership model prevents that. 

Goode said Habitat has the same concerns, and it has developed a relationship with the Housing Partnership to solve that problem on recent projects. The organizations partnered on a home last year, and a second collaborative home is under construction.

“The Habitat model has been working for decades,” said Jim Honing, president of the Housing Partnership. “It really helps that one family. But the model we’re talking about [is] where we go out and get the support from the community, and it benefits that one family, but it also benefits the community for generations to come.”

The homes on the Sister Bay lots would likely be 1,300 to 1,400 square feet with a garage.

“They aren’t huge homes, but they’re a great home for a family,” Goode said. “It’s the kind of home [where] they will pay less on a mortgage than they would for rent – around $150,000. We’re going to have to bring a $100,000 subsidy to every one of these homes.”

Learn more about the Door County Housing Partnership at doorcountyhousingtrust.org.