GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – You likely know someone who works full-time, but is still living paycheck to paycheck or struggling to keep up with bills and the high cost of living.
A local non-profit is taking matters into its own hands, and after six years of planning, the 72-unit City Center Lofts — offering affordable, socially-inclusive housing — is opening.
“It truly is taking a generational look at, ‘How do we create systemic change in our community?'” says Alexia Rehn, the president and CEO of Gateway Collective, the nonprofit organization behind the new complex. It’s located at the Baylake City Center Building in downtown Green Bay.
The City Center Lofts is the organization’s flagship project.
“We are bringing housing that is targeting a population that is so often missed when we’re talking about subsidies housing or the need for affordability,” Rehn adds.
That missed population, she says, is the working class — those working full-time, but still struggling with bills and unable to build savings.
After working at a local homeless shelter for over a decade, Rehn says it was time to put more emphasis on prevention.
“There were no other housing developments looking at serving the family before the moment of crisis hits, so by serving the working families, bringing that wrap-around support, and hopefully moving them towards financial flourishing and homeownership, we are able to prevent housing stability and housing loss before it even happens,” Rehn says.
Unlike a typical complex, rent for these units isn’t the same for everyone.
“Our housing is set based on what is affordable to that family and that household size, so while there is no set rate, it looks at their household income for working families, people working full time, and we are able to then make it affordable to that family unit, so we are able to set the rent at 30% of that household income,” Rehn says.
The lofts mostly target those who make 50% to 120% of the area’s median income, which is around $59,000.
But they’re not stopping at just building affordable units and helping families get ahead.
“One of the things we understand is that people are not just struggling financially, but we have people in our community that really need a strong sense of community and belonging,” says Christian Jensen, Gateway Collective’s director of development.
Jensen says the seek to create pockets of community.
“We are going to provide on-site programs such as financial literacy courses, health and wellness counseling, group fitness experiences with our friends from the Y, and really help those tenants thrive in whatever personal goals they have,” he adds.
Tenant move-in at the complex has already started for the first set of one-and-two-bedroom units that are ready. More units will come online in the coming weeks.
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