Vision
Navigating housing opportunities, providing attainable housing options and building a diverse housing population.
Goal
Providing 1,000 new owner-occupied housing units in Next Generation Housing Developments with 75% under $320,000 and 100% under $420,000, including home and lot, by 2032.
Next Generation Housing Kick-off Event
On October 7th, Washington County hosted the Next Generation Housing Kick-off Event. During the kick-off, County Executive Josh Schoemann provided information on the new Community Development Department, introduced the Community Development Director and provided details what Next Generation Housing Initiative is trying to achieve. EDWC provided a presentation on a workforce study that was completed detailing the shortage in the workforce and the difficulties of purchasing a home in the County. Following the EDWC presentation, a panel of private sector businesses presented their perspective on the workforce shortage and housing shortage and gave their support for this new program. Lastly, there was closing remarks from the County Executive. The event had about 100 local government officials and private sector businesses in attendance. The two hour long Next Generation Housing Kick-Off Event livestream is below.
See the Next Generation Housing Event PowerPoint presentation.
The Next Generation Housing Committee
The Community Development Department established the Next Generation Housing Committee comprised of local governments and key stakeholders. This Committee will work together to overcome the barriers to Next Generation Housing and drive the implementation of the Vision and long-term solutions. The first meeting was held on December 2nd, 2021. The Housing Committee members include:
Brian Krebs |
NGH Committee Chair / County Board Supervisor |
Christian Tscheschlok |
NGH Committee Vice Chair /Executive Director EDWC |
Jodi Schulteis |
County Board Supervisor |
Mark Piotrowicz |
Development Director - City of West Bend |
Jen Keller |
Village Administrator - Village of Jackson |
Margaret Wilber |
Village Administrator - Village of Slinger |
Katherine Gehl |
Administrative Services Coordinator - Village of Richfield |
Dave DeLuka |
Village President - Village of Newburg |
Adam Gitter |
Village Administrator - Village of Kewaskum |
Steve Kreklow |
Village Administrator - Village of Germantown |
Tom Hostad |
Executive Director - Hartford Area Development Corporation |
Toni Gumina |
President & CEO - West Bend Chamber of Commerce |
Kate Carroll |
Executive Director - Hartford Area Chamber of Commerce |
Lynn Grgich |
Executive Director - Germantown Area Chamber of Commerce |
Analiese Smith |
Workforce Development Board Director - Workforce Development |
Ad Hoc Workgroups
Comprised of lenders, educators, builders, developers, planners, businesses, civic/non-profit groups, and realtors, this workgroup will be the resource to determining real solutions to barriers and the resource to implement solutions. This Workgroup gathers a group of professionals who are directly involved in the housing market and development process. The first Ad Hoc Workgroup meeting was held on December 16th. See the summary report for more information.
Ad Hoc Workgroup Summary Report
View the Key Players Infographic as a pdf.
Builders Forum
Washington County along with the municipalities involved in the pilot projects are engaging builders from the beginning stages of developing in the Next Generation Housing projects. Incorporating builder feedback into the Initiative will be extremely important to the success and implementation of the pilot sites. The Community Development Department has engaged builders for two separate Builders Forums as well as many individual meetings with builders to discuss the Initiative.
August 16, 2022 Builders Forum Summary
October 26, 2022 Builders Forum Summary