Land JBS Foods donated to the City of Green Bay for housing and development, located between Guns and Lime Kiln Roads. PC: Fox 11 Online
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Affordable housing is a nationwide issue, and Green Bay is no exception.
The launch of a new partnership is a step toward working to fix it.
“This is definitely just one part of the solution, but it’s a big one for us,” said Eric Genrich, mayor of Green Bay.
“Overall, our goal is to be able to help middle-income households in our community and lower, achieve the dream of home ownership,” said Noel Halvorsen, president & CEO of NeighborWorks Green Bay.
The Green Bay Housing Partnership’s first initiative is a community land trust. That means the partnership owns the land, while you own the home.
The site for the land trust is land that was donated by JBS foods in 2021.
“They are homeowners in every respect that is meaningful. We just have that control of the parcel. We have that ability to make sure that the house sells for an affordable price for the next family that buys it,” said Halvorsen.
What about property taxes?
“The homeowners will have some tax obligation, like a conventional homeowner. There’ll just be a bit of difference because there’ll be two owners on that tax parcel,” said Halvorsen.
“Thankfully, there are so many other communities across the country that have established community land trusts. We have a lot of peer cities and peer organizations that we’re going to be able to go to across the country, but also within the state of Wisconsin,” said Genrich.
The owner can leave the home to anyone that they would like, even if that person isn’t eligible to purchase it.
“It’s got to be owner occupied, and if somebody inherits the home and they’re not going to live in it, then it’s got to be sold,” said Halvorsen.
Who is eligible to buy one of the homes?
“We’re looking at an eligibility requirement of an income below 120% of varying median income. Now, the actual mix per project could vary. So, maybe there’s a project where the buyer needs to be below 80% or different levels. That’s going to depend on funding sources sometimes as we’re putting those projects together,” said Halvorsen.
Once all of those eligibility requirements are ironed out, if you are eligible, you can begin your formal process to owning a home here.
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