Low-income veterans housing going forward, but not at First & Lincoln

Developer Cardinal Capital will build 52 units of low-income housing for veterans at 35th and Wisconsin, not at First and Lincoln as proposed last November by Center for Veterans Issues (CVI) and Cardinal Capital.

At a December meeting, the city’s Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development (ZND) Committee asked CVI to consider the alternative site, which CVI admitted would have been preferable though it said financing was not sufficient at the time. ZND cited the 35th and Wisconsin site’s proximity to CVI headquarters, transit lines, and other amenities. The First and Lincoln site is isolated in comparison.

ZND also argued that heavy industrial-zoned land, like the First and Lincoln site, was at a premium in Milwaukee and should be reserved for industrial uses. This stand contrasts the recommended residential use of the First Street corridor between Lincoln and Becher described in the Southeast Side Area Plan and adopted by the Common Council in 2008. 

Fourth District Alderman Robert Bauman called the proposal to build veterans housing in the vacant industrial tract “economic waste” and suggested CVI could look instead at the site in his district, suggesting the city could be more creative with financing the project.

In June, County Executive Scott Walker approved $465,341 of supplemental Community Block Grant funding to CVI to purchase and develop the property at 35th and Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA) has also allocated $1,055,214 in federal tax credits for what it calls CVI’s Veterans Manor project.

The First and Lincoln proposal included 80 units.

Copyright 2011 by Bay View Compass. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.