MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers, together with Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA) CEO and Executive Director Elmer Moore Jr., today announced that multifamily housing developers statewide will soon receive $47.8 million in competitive Housing Tax Credits (HTC), projected to create housing for approximately 5,000 Wisconsinites. In total, 35 developments in 15 counties will provide or preserve 2,128 new affordable housing units in 26 communities across the state struggling to provide housing for working families.
“Ensuring all our neighbors have access to reliable, affordable housing is essential for the health of our families, communities, and our economy,” said Gov. Evers. “These housing units are going to help communities across our state, and I’m proud of our continued efforts with WHEDA to address housing challenges and award these tax credits so developers can build more rental units for our kids and families, seniors, and workforce.”
This announcement builds on longstanding efforts of the Evers Administration to expand access to safe, reliable, and affordable housing. With these additional developments, the Evers Administration has supported building more than 33,500 housing units to address the needs of Wisconsin’s workforce, seniors, and families statewide since 2019.
“Housing Tax Credits are a critical resource for developers to overcome rising construction costs and inflation,” said WHEDA CEO and Executive Director Elmer Moore Jr. “This public-private partnership is how we help communities across the state reach their potential.”
Of the total projects receiving HTCs, 28 projects are new construction, with the remaining projects being rehabilitation or adaptive reuse. Twenty-four developments are designed to accommodate families, and the rest are suited for seniors. Over 54 percent are funded through the general category funds, while 40 percent are funded through the rural and small urban category funds, and roughly six percent are funded through the innovative category funds. Complete lists of the Federal nine percent and State/Federal four percent awards are available on WHEDA’s website.
WHEDA is Wisconsin’s sole administrator of Federal and State Housing Tax Credits. Since 1986, WHEDA has awarded more than $644 million in Housing Tax Credits, resulting in the development and rehabilitation of more than 61,000 units of rental housing for low- to moderate-income families, seniors, and vulnerable community members.
The programs do not subsidize renters but rather provide tax incentives through the Internal Revenue Code and the Wisconsin Tax Code that encourage developers to create affordable housing. In exchange for tax credits, developers agree to reserve housing units for low- and moderate- income households for at least 30 years. Any remaining units are rented at market rates.
An online version of this release is available here.
