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City of Madison

Innovative partnership aims to create more homeownership opportunities

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The City of Madison is celebrating another step forward in expanding affordable homeownership opportunities with the groundbreaking of a “Missing Middle” development on the city’s southeast side.

Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway joined Ald. Jael Currie, local developer Kaba Bah, and representatives from the Madison Area Community Land Trust on Thursday to celebrate the start of construction on the project, which will bring a new set of duplexes to the Owl Creek neighborhood and give multiple families a pathway to stability and financial security for their future generations.

The development was made possible in part by a $600,000 investment from the City of Madison’s Affordable Housing Fund, which is a part of the City’s capital budget, and the City’s Economic Development Division selling the land to Kaba Bah and the Madison Area Community Land Trust for $1.

  • Kaba Bah, Olivia Williams, Mayor Rhodes-Conway and new homeowners at a groundbreaking ceremony
  • Kaba Bah, Olivia Williams, Mayor Rhodes-Conway and Alder Jael Currie at a groundbreaking ceremony
  • Developer Kaba Bah speaks at a groundbreaking in the Owl Creek neighborhood
  • Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway speaks at a groundbreaking event in the Owl Creek neighborhood
  • The site in the Owl Creek neighborhood where four new duplex units will be built

With the homes being held in stewardship by the Madison Area Community Land Trust, these homes will be guaranteed to be permanently affordable, even as current market rates price many families out of homeownership. Innovative solutions like these are a piece of the puzzle in addressing both the need for more housing options in Madison and providing an entry point into homeownership for more families.

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Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway

While the vacancy rate – a way to show the percentage of available housing units in a housing market – is less than 3% for rental units in Madison, the vacancy rate for owner-occupied homes is even lower, which contributes to a hyper-competitive home sale market that prevents many Madisonians from owning their own home.

As our community continues carrying out solutions to meet its housing challenges, this development presents a highly needed homeownership opportunity for several households to have high-quality, affordable, housing.

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District 16 Alder Jael Currie

In addition to making sure the homes remain affordable for up-and-coming prospective homebuyers, the pair of zero-lot line duplexes being developed on that lot will maximize the space by creating multiple homeownership opportunities in one location.

“We are excited to break ground on this development, especially because it adds density to what might have been expected on this lot, giving an opportunity to own a home to four families instead of just one (if we built a single-family home) or two (if we had just built one twin home),” MACLT Executive Director Olivia Williams said.

"In today's housing market, creating new affordable homeownership opportunities for families in a rapidly growing city like ours is extremely challenging,” developer Kaba Bah added. “While the need is crucial to our socio-economic well-being, the numbers simply don’t align. To make this project a reality, we pooled our resources and formed a three-way partnership (between the City of Madison, Madison Area Community Land Trust and Kaba-Baal LLC). We’re excited about this initiative and incredibly proud of the hard work our partnership has invested to bring it to life."

Construction on the duplexes will begin soon.

More resources for prospective homebuyers

The City of Madison offers a number of resources and services to residents who are looking to get a foot in the door when it comes to buying their first home and setting their families up for future success, including the Home-Buy the American Dream program, which is a down payment and closing cost assistance program that may provide up to $35,000 for qualified low-to-moderate income homebuyers.

You can learn more about the program on the Community Development Division’s website.

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