'It can be done': Why this group renovates distressed properties into affordable, energy-efficient homes
A year ago, the house on North 15th Street was headed for a date with the wrecking ball.
It was vacant, owned by the city of Milwaukee after foreclosure, boarded up — distressed would be a kind description. But that was then, before Walnut Way Conservation Corp. began a rehab project that not only will make it inhabitable, but also aims to make it a beacon for what's possible in older neighborhoods in Milwaukee and across the state.
Today, the new roof sports solar panels. Electric furnaces and heat pumps will provide cooling and air conditioning, energy-efficient windows and insulation will seal out the cold, and batteries will provide backup power when the sun isn't shining. When complete, the upgrades will dramatically reduce energy costs for the home's future owner.
The focus on making the house as energy independent as possible aims to "demonstrate that it can be done, that we understand the technology and that it's attainable" in low and middle income neighborhoods, said Antonio Butts, Walnut Way's executive director.
"It is truly feasible," he said.
A template for future sustainable, clean energy home rehabs
The project ties together multiple aspects of Walnut Way's mission, incorporating community development, workforce training, sustainability and a growing focus on energy equity and making sure the benefits of the green energy transmission are attainable for everyone.
Butts describes it as putting the organization's advocacy into implementation, and it's happening at a time when opportunities for similar projects could grow dramatically. Walnut Way was among the partners who worked with the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. to develop a proposal for a grant from the U.S. Environment Protection Agency's Solar for All program.
The $7 billion program aims to bring solar power to millions of homes in low-income and disadvantaged communities, advancing the Biden administration's Justice40 Initiative goal of ensuring that 40% of clean energy investments go to communities that are marginalized, underserved, and overburdened by pollution.
The EPA plans to issue 60 grants in total to states, territories, tribal governments, municipalities, and eligible nonprofits.
WEDC and EPA declined to release details of its application to the grant program. EPA said grant awards will be announced this spring.
Butts said the grant could fund thousands of solar installations across the state.
"What we're most excited about in the short term is Walnut Way helped shape the state's Solar for All proposal that calls for up to 40,000 homes in Wisconsin to be able to tap rooftop solar," he said. "So this is a part of our process to align with a bigger vision."
Butts said Walnut way plans to host an open house in May, after renovations are complete. Renovations with a similar focus on energy affordability also are planned for four other homes within a mile of the North 15th Street property, he said.
More: City of Milwaukee will renovate and sell vacant, foreclosed homes
ARPA funds bridge gap between renovation, selling costs
The work is being done in partnership with the city's Homes MKE program. Launched in spring 2023, the initiative aims to rehabilitate up to 150 foreclosed, city-owned homes and get them in the hands of new owners or tenants. Development agreements are in place for about 130 homes, and the city hopes to wrap up the program by the middle of next year.
These are houses that private owners and investors wouldn't touch — they simply have too many challenges to make sense economically.
The city is using $15 million from the federal American Rescue Plan Act to fill gaps between the developer's investment, the full cost of repairs and the estimated market value of the property when the work is done, said Ed Miller, real estate specialist for Homes MKE.
When done, the homes will be sold to owner occupants, used as rental properties or offered in a rent-to-own program.
Miller declined to release specifics about the funding for Walnut Way's project. In general, he said, renovation costs are shared roughly equally between developers and the city.
Developer investments, he said, are generally $70,000 to $80,000. Homes MKE subsidies vary significantly, but typically fall in the $75,000 to $95,000 range.
About 60 homes are under construction or moving through the permitting process. The program guidelines include energy efficiency requirements, but Walnut Way's work on the house on North 15th Street has gone well beyond the minimum, Miller said.
He described the house as "very borderline," a single-family residence that was built before energy-efficiency was a consideration and had been converted into a multi-family rental.
"That was a very difficult home," he said. "It's challenging to take a house that's 120 years old and turn it into, in effect, a net-zero house."
The city's goal is for 70% of Homes MKE rehabs to be sold to owner occupants.
Miller said the city tries to keep the sale prices of the homes, including larger houses such as duplexes, between $100,000 and $180,000, keeping them affordable for working families. When down-payment assistance programs and other homebuyer programs are factored in, mortgages are competitive with rents, he said.
Buyers are required to go through a homebuyer training program.
Butts said several potential owners are interested in buying the North 15th Street house when it's done.
That level of interest is not uncommon, Miller said.
Each of the eight completed projects listed on the Homes MKE website have been sold or rented. Five are owner occupied, one is a fully rented duplex, and one is under a rent-to-own contract.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Walnut Way renovates Milwaukee property into sustainable house
