Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity will hold a groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday to celebrate the start of construction on what it says is it’s most ambitious initiative yet: the revitalization of 100 homes in Milwaukee’s Midtown neighborhood over the next three years.
The project, called Midtown 100, will include building 65 new homes, rehabilitating 15 homes and completing critical repairs on 20 homes, which will allow current residents to remain in their homes.
The organization said it will invest $10.3 million in the neighborhood over the course of the initiative.
Milwaukee Habitat officials said the project will allow the organization to serve the most families per year in its 34-history while building the highest concentration of affordable single-family homes built in Milwaukee since World War II.
After focusing primarily on Milwaukee’s Washington Park neighborhood since 2013, Milwaukee Habitat announced last July that it would begin expanding its work eastward to the Midtown neighborhood.
The organization will focus its efforts on the area that encompasses North Avenue to Lisbon Avenue and from 30th to 25th Streets.
After the organization completes its work in Midtown, Habitat plans to shift its focus to the Harambee neighborhood.
Milwaukee Habitat says it’s seen many positive outcomes in the Washington Park neighborhood, including a 48 percent decrease in violent crime on the blocks that have been revitalized and a nearly 20 percent increase in residents who say that they feel a part of the neighborhood since 2013. Officials said they hope to replicate those outcomes in Midtown.
