Door County has Hope for Affordable Housing

When the Sister Bay Village Board hosted a forum last July to discuss affordable housing, the gap between the perception of the area’s housing problem and reality was put into startling perspective.

Mavis Arnold of the Door County Job Center laid out some telling statistics.

The average annual income of Door County residents age 25 – 35 is about $26,000, she told the assemblage. At that income level the top-end home one could afford, without carrying other significant debt, is less than $100,000. At the time, just two homes in Door County listed by the Multiple Listing Service came in at less than $150,000.

When those facts were put on the table, several shocked officials asked for clarification, evidently unsure if they understood correctly. Village President Denise Bhirdo said it was an eye-opener.

“It was great information for all of us to see what our demographics really are and recognize the depth of the problem,” she said.

The forum pushed the affordable housing issue higher up the village’s priority list, and this winter the Door County branch of Habitat for Humanity approached the village with an innovative plan to provide housing at a price point no other development proposal could match.

Habitat for Humanity builds homes in partnership with the home-owners-to-be. Building the homes with volunteer labor allows them to sell the homes for $80 – 90,000, far less than would conventionally be possible, with no-interest mortgages for buyers.

“The village found that there really wasn’t anybody able to do what we’re able to do,” said Becky Kerwin, a Habitat board member. “We think this could really fill a void and even serve as a good model for other communities.”

Habitat homes are available to those who make 60 percent or less of the Door County median family income ($34,020 for a family of four).

Though only a concept at this point, the project would be a 24-unit development on land already earmarked by Sister Bay for affordable housing. The parcel is currently home to the baseball field where the Sister Bay Bays County League team plays, directly behind Johnson’s Park on North Highland Road. The village has indicated it will work with Habitat on the sale price of the land, possibly giving them the land at a reduced price to help keep the homes affordable.

The mix of two and three bedroom homes would be designed in a low-impact, environmentally friendly manner. Virge Temme, a Sturgeon Bay architect specializing in sustainable site design and home building, is working on a site plan that would take advantage of solar energy and incorporate storm water management with native vegetation and possibly a created wetland. The ultimate goal is to make the homes 30 to 40 percent more energy efficient than the average home.

The Sister Bay effort would be the first project of this scale taken on by the organization, which generally builds a house or two per year. Habitat director Rick Nelson isn’t worried about meeting the ramped up production needs the effort would entail, however.

“We have a lot of potential volunteers who don’t want to make the drive to Southern Door who say they’re just waiting for a project in Northern Door,” Nelson said.

Nelson said he doesn’t believe the development will have an adverse effect on the property values of surrounding condominiums.

“We’re not building inferior quality homes,” Nelson said. “All our homes are energy-star certified. There aren’t fireplaces or Jacuzzis and other bells and whistles, just good quality homes.”

The village has stipulated the housing be produced for people who would live and work in the Gibraltar School District, not part-time residents.

“We don’t want someone moving in and selling it for $200,000 to 300,000 a year from now,” Nelson said. “We’re looking at ways to be sure that doesn’t happen.”

That could mean creating a community land trust. In such an arrangement, the community would own the land, but the purchaser would own the structures. Habitat is also investigating the inclusion of a deed restriction to ensure homes could only be re-sold to qualified homebuyers.

The first step in moving the project forward is determining if there is indeed sufficient interest and qualified applicants. To do so Habitat will send employers within the Gibraltar School District a survey by mail in mid-June. They’ll be asked to distribute the surveys to their employees by accompanying them with their paychecks.

“Employers will be the conduit, we need their support on this,” Nelson said.

The survey will not request detailed financial or personal information from workers. Instead, it is meant to gage whether there is a significant population of workers who qualify for and are interested in Habitat homes within the Gibraltar district by gathering general information such as where workers live, general income information, age, and interest in the project.

An employer forum presented in conjunction with the Door County Visitor Bureau and the Door County Economic Development Corporation will be scheduled in early June to help promote the survey and the project.

Nelson sees little reason to quibble with the effort.

“How can you argue with it?” Nelson asked. “It helps the school, it helps people in need. If we build a family a home they start contributing more to the community. They’re paying real estate taxes, property taxes. They’re spending their money in the community rather than taking it home with them somewhere else.”

Bhirdo said the board is extremely enthusiastic about the prospect of finally addressing the affordable housing problem through what she described as a “grass-roots effort.”

“It’s nice to see real progress,” she said.

For Nelson, who grew up in Sturgeon Bay, the project is a way to give back to the Door County community in a substantial way.

“These are people caught in a tough spot,” he said. “These are the waitresses, cooks, and housekeepers who want to be here, work here, but can’t afford to buy a home here. They’re the backbone of our community. I think our community owes something to them.”