A project in Oshkosh is converting a historic former elementary school into affordable housing, and similar adaptive reuse projects could help address the state’s housing shortage.
Missy Hughes, chief executive of Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., said adaptive reuse projects aren’t new in the state, but she believes they’ve been gaining momentum in recent years thanks to incentives like affordable housing tax credits from Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority and historic preservation credits through WEDC.
“These kinds of state-supported tools help to alleviate some of the risk for the developers and take some of the financial burden off of them,” she said.
[Adapted from: Adaptive reuse could help address Wisconsin’s affordable housing shortage, May 30, 2023, Wisconsin Public Radio]