Firms to help employees buy houses

Grants to bolster Havenwoods area

Businesses on Milwaukee’s northwest side will provide grants to help their employees make down payments to buy neighborhood houses under a new program.

The Havenwoods Business Improvement District is launching the program to help companies better recruit and retain employees, and to improve the Havenwoods area, said Stephanie Harling, a district official.

The program will provide $3,000 for a down payment on a loan to buy a house in the Havenwoods area. That neighborhood is bordered by N. 43rd St., N. 76th St., W. Silver Spring Drive and W. Good Hope Road.

A $1,500 grant will be provided for an employee who buys a house in Milwaukee but outside Havenwoods, said Harling, executive director of the Havenwoods Economic Development Corp. That nonprofit group works with the business district.

The cash is provided as a forgivable three-year loan.

Harling said one-third of the amount is forgiven for each year the home buyer remains in the house and continues working at the neighborhood company.

The program also includes assistance for employees from Housing Resources Inc., a local nonprofit home-buying counselor.

Three companies have so far joined the campaign: HellermannTyton North America, TJM Innovations, Fredman Bag and Hentzen Coatings.

The program should help improve both the stability of HellermannTyton’s local workforce, which totals 530 employees, as well as the neighborhood where the company operates, said President Terry Tuttle.

“Home ownership gives people a sense of pride,” she said.

The median price for singlefamily homes within Havenwoods typically ranges from around $45,000 to $75,000, Harling said.

Around 40% of the district’s houses are owner occupied, she said. That is a steep decline from around 60% before the 2008 housing bust. A lot of northwest side houses went through foreclosure and were sold to investors who have since rented them out, Harling said.

The business district is providing $40,000 to launch the program, Harling said. That effort includes a Tuesday news conference at HellermannTyton to be attended by Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and other officials.

The district will consider expanding the program in 2018 if it’s successful, Harling said. That would include seeking additional funding sources.

The district is funded by a special assessment on commercial properties within the Havenwoods area. Its annual budget is around $202,000.