NHS is bringing a new home to the community

RICHLAND CENTER, Wis (WRCO / WRCE) – NHS is bringing a new home to the community.

Neighborhood Housing Services of Southwest Wisconsin (NHS of SW WI) has been focused on its mission of affordable housing for over 40 years. Over those years, NHS of SW WI has locally built over 50 affordable homes for moderate income families in Richland County. NHS of SW WI is currently breaking ground on a new project to help address the current housing situation and continue the agency’s efforts to provide affordable, workforce housing.

The current project is a new home on an in-fill lot on Kinder Street in Richland Center. The lot has been vacant for over 10 years when the previous house was torn down. The city of Richland Center has long sighted the lack of housing as a major concern. Addressing that concern has been difficult with lack of available land for building new homes with access to city utilities. The project is a win-win for adding to the housing stock and tax rolls while in-filling an unused vacant lot.

The planning of this project started over a year ago with a proposal to the State of Wisconsin’s Division of Energy, Housing and Community Resources (DEHCR) to re-establish NHS of SW WI standing as a designated Community Housing Development Organization or CHDO.

This program allows NHS of SW WI to retain proceeds from funded projects for future projects. The State of Wisconsin granted NHS of SW WI the CHDO status and through a long application process for funding the contract for the new home build in Richland Center was approved. A partnership with Southwest Community Action Program in Dodgeville will allow NHS of SW WI access to a modular home built by Skyline in Lancaster.

The home will be a three-bedroom and two-bath home on a full basement with egress windows, along with a two-car attached garage. The general contractor for the project is Whispering Pines Custom Builders, LLC in Richland Center. Whispering Pines has built houses for NHS of SW WI in the past. Groundbreaking for the foundation is scheduled for late August. The modular unit is scheduled to be delivered and set in late September with a completion date of late November.

Housing prices have increased in the past several years to the point that affordability for first-time homebuyers is often out of reach. The goal of this project is to provide workforce housing for a first-time home buying family at the 80 percent median income in Richland County. The price of the home will include subsidies to keep the mortgage under $200,000 for the eligible buyer.

Families interested in the opportunity to purchase the home should contact NHS of SW WI at 608-647-2705 to start the pre-approval process. A groundbreaking ceremony will be held at a future date.

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