Six organizations, committed to hiring 100 unemployed or underemployed Milwaukee residents, have been selected by the city to renovate 100 homes in the greater Sherman Park neighborhood.
Advance Investors, CUBE Development/FIT Investment Group, Ezekiel Community Development Corp., Gorman & Co., Strong Blocks Real Estate, and T.E. X LLC, will renovate tax-foreclosed homes in the area south of Capitol Drive, north of Lloyd Street, west of 20th Street, and east of 60th Street.
Grants, funded with money from the State of Wisconsin, will provide up to $10,000 toward the rehab cost of each home. The firms selected will hire at least one unemployed or underemployed Milwaukee resident to work on each property.
The homes will be sold to the selected organizations for one dollar plus the real estate closing costs.
“This is an investment in Sherman Park and nearby neighborhoods. It will return foreclosed houses to productive use, and it will help many people reenter the workforce,” Mayor Tom Barrett said in a written statement. “It is a step forward for this area and for the entire city.”
A resolution will be presented to the Milwaukee Common Council in mid-April that will authorize the Department of City Development to sell properties and enter into grant agreements with the selected applicants.
“I’m focused on the future, and the Milwaukee Employment/Renovation Initiative is an important part of a positive future for neighborhoods facing housing and economic challenges,” Alderman Khalif Rainey. “We have reviewed a number of partnership proposals, and I am pleased the city is moving forward with several different organizations on this effort.”
