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Our initial goal is to raise $1.5 million to earn a dollar-for-dollar match from the Wisconsin Housing Economic Development Authority, thereby creating an initial $3 million loan pool.
Another $2 million will eventually be raised to achieve a $5 million loan pool, incentivizing the construction of more than 1,000 affordable rental units in Door County over the next generation.
The Community Foundation made the first donation of $125,000 toward this effort, followed by a contribution of $500,000 from the County of Door. Ultimately, we are counting on the generosity of the people and businesses of Door County to earn the match and make this project a reality.
Download the pledge card and make your commitment to affordable workforce housing in Door County.
The Community Foundation welcomes gifts to any of our funds via credit or debit card. Please click here to begin a credit card transaction.
Please mail checks to:
Workforce Housing Lending Corporation
c/o Door County Community Foundation
222 N 3rd Ave
Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235
The Community Foundation is pleased to accept direct gifts of highly appreciated assets – generally saving you from capital gains taxes and offering you a charitable deduction as well. Contact the Community Foundation if you’re interested in making a gift of appreciated assets.
We’re able to work with almost any kind of planned gift including bequests, retirement accounts, insurance policies, life estates with retained interest, charitable remainder trusts, charitable lead trusts – and far too many other tools to list them all here. Contact us at the Community Foundation and we’d be honored to help you give back to our community.
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The WHLC Board of Directors has been constituted and the IRS has granted the new corporation 501(c)(3) public charity status operating as a subsidiary of the charity NeighborWorks Green Bay in partnership with the Door County Community Foundation.
Our vision is simple. Every fully employed person can afford a safe, quality place to live.
Our mission is ambitious. We are increasing the availability of workforce housing in Door County and potentially all of Northeast Wisconsin.
The Workforce Housing Lending Corporation is a 501(c)(3) public charity that is jointly governed by appointees from the Door County Community Foundation and NeighborWorks Green Bay.
Workforce Housing Lending Corporation Board of Directors
Bret Bicoy, Board Chair
Community Foundation Appointee
Roger Johnson, Board Secretary
Community Foundation Appointee
Chris Boland
NWGB Appointee
Deby Dehn
NWGB Appointee
Gail Enke
NWGB Appointee
John Herlache
Community Foundation Appointee
Denis Hogan
NWGB Appointee
Steve Kase
NWGB Appointee
Jeff Lutsey
Community Foundation Appointee
Kaaren Northrop
Community Foundation Appointee
Steve O’Hearn
Community Foundation Appointee
Tim Treml
NWGB Appointee
Vicki Wilson
Community Foundation Appointee
Noel Halvorsen
President & CEO
Workforce Housing Lending Corporation,
NWGB Ex Officio Appointee
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For almost two years, the Door County Community Foundation convened groups of local business leaders, housing developers, government officials, and ordinary citizens to identify new approaches to address our significant shortage of affordable workforce housing. Rather than create another government program that requires ongoing funding, our goal was to use targeted incentives to create a market-based solution to this problem. The effort was led by the following Design Team with support from local government planning professionals:
Design Team
Bret Bicoy, Door County Community Foundation, Convenor
Steve Jenkins, Door County Economic Development Corporation
David Lienau, Chair, Door County Board of Supervisors
David Ward, Mayor, City of Sturgeon Bay
Noel Halvorsen, NeigborWorks Green Bay
Colleen Homb, Lakeshore CAP
David Eliot, Peninsula Publishing & Distribution
James Honig, Shepherd of the Bay
Erich Pfeifer, Marine Travelift
Michele Notz, Good Samaritan Society
Sarah Bonevich, Doneff Companies
Marissa Downs, Mosaic Ventures
Professional Staff Support
Mariah Goode, Door County Land Use Services Department
Rebecca Kerwin, Door County Land Use Services Department
Marty Olejniczak, Sturgeon Bay Community Development Department
Chris Sullivan-Robinson, Sturgeon Bay Community Development Department
Central to the plans developed was a new workforce affordable housing corporation that was to be governed by the Community Foundation in partnership with the non-profit NeighborWorks Green Bay. This new corporation, the Workforce Housing Lending Corporation (WHLC), will provide financial incentives for developers to build rental units that are within the price range of Door County’s working families.
The loans that will be offered by WHLC were designed collaboratively by private housing developers, non-profit affordable housing experts, and government officials. Actual Door County development projects that were built, and those that failed to come to fruition, served as the testing ground for potential terms as we tweaked interest rates, repayment options, amortization schedules, and other details. Each individual loan WHLC makes will be a relatively small percentage of the total financing for any particular housing project, but our loans will offer a key incentive for private developers to build units in Door County rather than other communities.
In December 2021, the Board of Directors of the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA) approved an investment of $1.5 million in the WHLC loan program.
Door County is required to match the WHEDA investment by raising at least $1.5 million in local money, thereby creating an initial loan pool of $3 million. Yet our plans go well beyond that. Ultimately, over time our intent is to raise another $2 million beyond what is required by the WHEDA match so that Door County can benefit from a $5 million loan pool to stimulate the construction of affordable workforce housing.
The Community Foundation committed the first $125,000 to the effort and the County of Door approved a contribution of $500,000. Additional resources will come from the generous people of Door County.
Future plans call for homeownership assistance programs, down payment assistance programs, housing rehabilitation loans, and other financial products that foster affordable housing in Door County.
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Housing Developers Interested in Building Multi-Family Units in Door County, Wisconsin:
Please contact Kay Smith by emailing kay@builddoorcounty.org or calling (920) 770-0830.
Download our Loan Application Package to access the required documents for your loan application.
Please contact Kay Smith by emailing kay@builddoorcounty.org or calling (920) 770-0830.
Please contact the Door County Community Foundation. By emailing whlc@givedoorcounty.org or calling (920) 746-1786.
