County Exec awards the Acts Housing acquisition fund $2.5 million
Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley signed a bill Monday morning awarding Acts Housing, a local nonprofit that provides homeownership programs, $2.5 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds to help boost the nonprofit’s Acqusition Fund.
Last summer, Acts Housing announced the creation of its acquisition fund, which will be used to purchase roughly 100 homes throughout Milwaukee and sell them to Milwaukee renters. The program is being headed by Dorothy York, the vice president of real estate at the company and a graduate of Marquette University’s Associates in Commercial Real Estate (ACRE) program.
The fund is meant to allow local residents a better opportunity to become homeowners in spite of the significant uptick in home purchases by out-of-state investors.
The high-demand, low-supply housing market has priced many current renters out of the homebuying market and recent interest hikes have also meant mortgage payments are expected to increase. Homes purchased through Acts Housing’s fund are expected to help alleviate those barriers to homeownership, with the nonprofit slated to resell the homes it purchases between $90,000 and $140,000.
Related:ACTS Housing is launching an acquisition fund to combat investor landlord purchases in Milwaukee
The fund’s purpose directly serves the company’s primary mission, which has focused on increasing homeownership rates throughout Milwaukee, particularly for the Black and Hispanic residents.
The Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors had voted in December of last year to allocate the funds, which represent local government’s renewed focus on addressing housing shortages and unaffordability.
Last summer, Milwaukee’s Common Council allocated roughly $44 million in American Rescue Plan dollars toward affordable housing, including $5 million to support existing housing programs.
Crowley has also stated he wants to dedicate part of $19 million from the American Rescue Plan dollars to the construction of affordable housing in the county’s suburbs.
Acts Housing had already raised $3 million for its fund last year, thanks in part to a $1 million Zilber Family Foundation grant. With the county’s additional funds, the organization will be halfway toward its $11 million goal.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: County Executive Crowley awards Acts Housing acquisition fund $2.5M
