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City of Madison

City of Madison celebrates groundbreaking for Theresa Terrace townhomes

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The City of Madison is taking steps to address the shortage of “Missing Middle” housing, starting with one of its own properties.

The City’s Community Development Authority broke ground today on a project to redevelop its vacant duplexes at 1309 and 1401 Theresa Terrace into a new set of townhomes that will be permanently affordable rentals. Demolition of the duplexes will begin soon, and construction on the townhomes should be completed in 2025.

Rendering of Theresa Terrace townhomes

“Missing Middle” housing describes the gap in housing choice between single-family homes and large apartment buildings. Examples of “Missing Middle” housing include townhomes, accessory dwelling units, cottage courts, and multiplexes.

Exterior view of vacant Theresa Terrace duplexes

As the City of Madison continues to support more housing to meet high demand in one of the most competitive markets in the United States, it is also working to make sure there are more varieties of housing to choose from, whether for older adults, young professionals, or growing families. Gentle density like the townhomes coming to Theresa Terrace can bring more housing options to our neighborhoods.

This project showcases how to address the ‘Missing Middle’ in Madison and I hope serves as model for other developments. We need a diversity of housing options to meet the needs of a growing Madison. The new Theresa Terrace townhomes are just one of the City’s efforts helping us get there.

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Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway

The new townhomes are a modest addition to the market, but the hope is by the City using its own properties as a model, more developers will explore similar infill developments across the city.

This project allows the CDA and the City to repurpose two buildings that have been sitting vacant and turn them into more units in the same space.

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Department of Planning, Community & Economic Development Director and Community Development Authority Executive Director Matt Wachter
DPCED Director Matt Wachter, Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway, and Alder Barbara Harrington-McKinney break ground at Theresa Terrace

The townhomes will be 3-bedroom, 2,000 square foot units -- larger than most of the rental apartments at similar price points in the Theresa Terrace area. The townhomes are intended for families with children and are just a couple of doors down from the Theresa Terrace Neighborhood Center and are also close to Anana Elementary School.

KPH Construction, which has worked on providing safe, supportive housing across Wisconsin, will build the townhomes.

“We’ve turned our passion into expertise in a variety of housing projects including workforce housing, multi-family developments, student housing, and emergency shelter construction, so we are very proud to be delivering these homes in Madison,” KPH Construction President Keith Harenda said.

The duplexes being replaced were more than 50 years old and had a long history of maintenance problems, making redevelopment more cost-effective than renovation. The duplexes were sold to the CDA’s non-profit affiliate, the Madison Revitalization and Community Development Corporation (MRCDC), in 2023.

Exterior view of vacant Theresa Terrace duplexes

The project is supported by the City’s Affordable Housing Fund, which is a part of the annual Capital Budget. The units will be guaranteed to be affordable for those making up to 60% of Dane County’s Area Median Income, which includes households of three making up to $68,040 per year and households of four making up to $75,540 per year.

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