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The City of Eau Claire is requesting proposals for affordable housing projects in response to a growing need for elderly and workforce housing.
This is the third time the city has requested proposals through its Affordable Housing Fund, which was established in 2020. This time, the city is offering $785,000 in funding.
The fund is open to nonprofit and for-profit developers, as well as private citizens. Proposals are due by 5 p.m. Nov. 1 to Billie.Hufford@EauClaireWI.gov.
“We really want some projects that will help with that so we can make sure individuals are getting housed, that we don’t have 70, 80-year-old individuals staying at overnight shelter or possibly living outside,” said Billie Hufford, community development project coordinator for the City of Eau Claire.
Hufford said the market remains difficult at many levels. While workforce housing development has grown, providers are reporting more older adults and people with significant health issues becoming homeless.
“So we really need those housing affordable at levels that hit those Social Security minimum income levels,” Hufford said.
The aim is to provide housing for residents making less than 60% of the county median income, or a little under $70,000 a year.
Minimum Social Security for an individual is $994 a month. Under the standard that housing should cost no more than 30% of income, that means $298 a month for rent, housing payment and utilities. For a couple, it is $1,491 a month in income.
There are also initiatives for tenants with eviction and criminal histories. Hufford said tight market conditions allow landlords to be selective, leaving people with records struggling to find housing.
“If they’ve had prior evictions, if they may have a criminal record, the market’s just so tight right now,” Hufford said. “Owners, landlords can, they’re still getting a bunch of applications and they’re looking for what they consider the person who’s going to be there the longest and pay.”
City housing officials say they hope this will also address homelessness in the area.
Past rounds have added more than 100 new units. Hufford said the first round helped fund Eddy and Prairie Heights developments, including units at 60% and 30% of median income, using low-income housing tax credits. The second round fully funded the Hmong Mutual Association to rehabilitate apartments and keep rents below 30% of median income.
“The first time getting those low-income housing tax credit or LIHTC projects, which is the quickest and easiest way to add a lot of units at affordable levels,” Hufford said. “So getting those into the community just really helped make a difference and add a lot of units.”
Hufford said the city would like to see more LIHTC projects that can add 60 units quickly, as well as local rehab projects that preserve low rents.
Economics professor Thomas Kemp at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire said the core issue is supply and demand.
“If demand is rising, in order to keep prices constant, you need supply to rise as well,” Kemp said.
Kemp said building more housing in general can help, as new housing allows existing stock to filter down and become more affordable. He said Eau Claire rents remain low compared to the Twin Cities, Madison, Milwaukee and Chicago, but housing costs are outpacing income growth.
“It’s certainly true that housing costs are outpacing income growth. And this is where some of these challenges are coming from,” Kemp said.
Kemp said construction costs in Eau Claire are roughly the same as in the Twin Cities for materials and labor, but incomes are significantly less, creating a challenge for smaller markets. He said Wisconsin annexation rules also make it challenging for cities to grow physically.
On effectiveness of targeted initiatives, Kemp said results vary by market.
“In some markets, affordable housing initiatives have been successful, and in other markets, they have not. There are simply too many variables to say definitively whether they’ll be successful or not in any given area, including Eau Claire,” Kemp said. “Anything that can really allow Eau Claire to continue to grow as a community and as an economy will ultimately be a good thing.”
Property managers say operating costs are driving rents.
“Owners have to pay for maintenance, insurance, property taxes, all things that have been steadily increasing over the years. But one thing that doesn’t increase with that is incomes in the area,” said Megan Giancatarino, executive property manager with General Property Management.
Giancatarino said rents have risen steadily since 2020.
“Since 2020, you’ve seen pretty steady increases each year, anywhere from two to four percent, depending on the year,” Giancatarino said.
She said market rates are calculated to cover mortgages, materials and labor, and that city funding for building, remodeling or maintenance could help lower-income households afford market rates.
CREDIT: WEAU
https://www.weau.com/2026/10/05/city-eau-claire-offers-785k-affordable-housing-projects/?outputType=amp
