City unveils two housing partnerships and funding plan to boost supply

City Manager Mr. Moore told the Fond du Lac City Council on June 10 that the city has identified two private development partners to expand housing supply and reduce affordability pressures.

"We have identified two partners who have agreed to move forward with us to create more housing and new neighborhoods this year," Moore said, describing a mixed-use multifamily project near Police Memorial Drive and a single-family subdivision called Hunter Grove on the city's northeast side.

Moore summarized the city’s housing analysis: rental vacancy rates below typical healthy levels (about 1–1.5 percent), a rising price‑to‑income ratio, and an estimated near‑term need of roughly 700 owner units and 850 rental units. For the Police Memorial Drive site, Moore said phase one would include about 48–64 multifamily units with rents sized to local market conditions; the city intends to support that project with roughly $1.1 million in infrastructure work (about $275,000 per initial building). Hunter Grove would start with about 20 homes, with streets, utilities and other infrastructure built by the city up front to lower developer costs and encourage modestly priced product.

CFO Patricia Davey outlined funding sources identified to support city investment: an affordable‑housing fund created under state TIF rules (staff said funds are accumulating), the city’s share of surplus closed TID funds (reported balance $800,000), and a $1.1 million allocation in the 2026 capital improvement plan for residential infill. Davey said the funds are either on hand or programmed in the CIP and that the city is positioned to assist the first phases of both projects.

Councilmembers asked whether the multifamily units would be subsidized housing (staff said they will be market rent unless specific affordability commitments are required), how ‘‘affordable’’ is defined in practice (staff said it can mean smaller sizes and rent/mortgage targets tied to household income rather than low‑income housing), and whether the city’s infrastructure investments would change future commercial frontage plans along Highway 151. One councilmember noted a parallel county‑campus partnership that adds roughly 90 units to the near‑term pipeline.

Moore and Davey said the items will return as action items after developer agreements and specific funding allocations are finalized.