Door County hosts WHEDA Director

Door County’s population has aged markedly over the last decade, and municipalities are growing more cognizant of the role the lack of affordable housing plays in the trend. The peninsula’s geography, tourism-based economy, and lack of traditional industry make it a unique challenge for the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Administration (WHEDA).

That’s why Antonio Riley, WHEDA’s Executive Director, visited Door County June 18 – 19, meeting with local officials, employers, and beneficiaries of the administration’s programs.

“Rural areas present very unique challenges for housing,” Riley said in a phone interview on his way out of the county. “And in tourist destinations, housing values are a big driver. Second homes and condos drive prices up beyond the means of many residents.”

As a result, new proposals are gaining steam in Southern and Northern Door. Habitat for Humanity is investigating a project in Sister Bay to provide affordable housing, and in Sturgeon Bay the city is working with WireTech fabricators to relocate the business and create a housing project. Last year HATCO Corporation became one of the first businesses in the state to launch an employer-assisted housing program, and a private developer has submitted plans for a large-scale project in Sister Bay as well.

“There’s a direct link between housing and economic development,” Riley said. “Companies will be able to expand if they know there’s housing stock available for a workforce in Door County.”

Riley addressed the Door County Attainable Housing Committee, realtors, and lenders at two meetings, one at Peninsula Art School and another at Crossroads at Big Creek. He also met with Sturgeon Bay officials to discuss the WireTech site as a possible attainable housing project WHEDA could support, and took part in a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Bayview Terrace City senior housing complex in Sturgeon Bay. The complex was allocated $1.84 million by WHEDA in affordable tax credits in April to help renovate the building.

Riley visited Carol Newman of the Pioneer Store in Ellison Bay as well. WHEDA worked with Associated Bank to provide a loan guarantee to help Newman rebuild the store after a propane explosion destroyed it July 10, 2006.

“It’s a wonderful story,” Riley said. “It was incredible to learn what that store and Carol mean to that community. We’re really honored to play a role in it.”

In discussing the mortgage crisis that has swept the nation over the last year, Riley emphasized the role of homebuyer education in WHEDA’s lending efforts.

“Education is not only important, it’s a requirement for us,” Riley said. “It helps people being put into homes to be ready to maintain them. Studies show that homebuyers who undergo education classes are the most successful homeowners.”

Riley said his administration has doled out 23,400 mortgages in four years with only a half percent foreclosure rate.

“These [borrowers] are people on the margins, without great credit scores,” he said.

Riley is well versed in the housing problems unique to the area and said he’s not throwing all of WHEDA’s efforts on the peninsula exclusively into home-ownership programs.

“We tend to focus a lot in terms of home-ownership,” he said. “But it’s also on the rental side. A lot of people can’t afford a house, so we need to make quality rental housing available. This trip further crystallized for us that we’re on the right track. The Habitat for Humanity proposal presents a unique opportunity; the HATCO project is a good one. It can be done here. But we have to be willing to do the homework, to layer the resources.”