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Door County
Door County is the first of three communities to participate in the rural affordable workforce housing pilot process. The Door County Pilot Design Team began the process on December 18th, 2020, with a target completion of June 2021.
According to the Door County Housing Analysis, housing demand in the county is driven by distinct market dynamics:
- Job growth for entry-level employees in health care, education, and manufacturing has taken place along with a corresponding lack of new apartment construction
- Strong demand for homes by second home buyers
- New retailers and restaurants have increased the demand for seasonal employee housing
Source: Door County Economic Development Corporation. (2019). Door County Housing Analysis.
Core Areas of Focus
The Door County Pilot Design Team identified a set of core focus areas to guide their work:
- Financing - how developers, communities, and prospective home buyers can get access to financing options to build and purchase housing that is affordable to working households
- New construction - how new single family and multifamily homes can be designed and built affordably for working households in Door County
- Public perception - how to change what people think about affordable housing, so that they may see it as an asset to their community
Progress Summaries
Learn more about the pilot design process in Door County by reading the progress summaries below. This will be updated at the end of each phase of the pilot design process.
Door County Pilot Project Timeline
October 20, 2020
Finalist communities are announced by WHEDA for the Rural Affordable Workforce Housing Pilot.
December 18, 2020
The Door County Pilot Design Team is introduced, and begin organizing their work together and planning for community-based research on the local workforce housing affordability challenge.
December 2020 –
February 2021
The Door County Pilot Design Team conducted a series of engagement workshops with community stakeholders who are impacted by and work closely with the local workforce housing challenge, informing their work as they gear up for generating ideas.
February 18 - 19, 2021
A two-day workshop was held for the Door County Pilot Design Team to gather and reflect on their data, and make decisions about which opportunities to pursue further on the second day, where they opened the doors to host a public brainstorming session with community members and other local stakeholders.
February – March 2021
Based on the ideas generated during the Ideation Sessions, the Door County Pilot Design Team began developing tangible concepts, ultimately testing and prototyping a select few which demonstrate the greatest potential to be both feasible and sustainable.
April 8 - 9th, 2021
The final two-day workshop for the Door County Pilot Design Team was used to prepare for the implementation phase. During Day 1, the team evaluated and prioritized concepts developed during the Prototyping Sprint. On Day 2, the team shared out their information to a wide audience of stakeholders and community members to solicit feedback and insights on their concepts.
April – June 2021
The Door County Pilot Design Team began developing a series of pilots, based on the concepts prioritized during the Action Workshop. The team continued to engage with practitioners, subject matter experts, and community members in order to create a clear plan for the final pilot solutions.
Door County Webinars
| Title | Date | Video | Presentation Deck |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rural Affordable Workforce Housing Pilot Concept Feedback Session | April 9, 2021 | Watch the Webinar | View the PowerPoint Presentation |
| Rural Affordable Workforce Housing Pilot Concept Feedback Session | April 8, 2021 | Watch the Webinar | View the PowerPoint Presentation |