Theresa Terrace neighborhood celebrates completion of new town homes
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The City of Madison is celebrating the completion of a new set of town homes that create more affordable housing options for families on the city’s west side.
Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway joined Alder Barbara Harrington-McKinney, Department of Planning, Community and Economic Development Director and Community Development Authority (CDA) Executive Director Matt Wachter, and members of the CDA board and Theresa Terrace neighborhood in a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new homes.
We wanted to prove you could build town homes in a neighborhood like this, and that they would look good and that people would want to live in them, and that they would fit right in with the neighborhood.
Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway
The new homes on Theresa Terrace replace a pair of 50-year-old duplexes that were previously owned by the Community Development Authority (CDA). The duplexes had not been used for CDA housing for several years due to a history of maintenance problems that made it more cost-effective to redevelop the site than to renovate the old units.
I'm grateful that our CDA went first to show that this is possible, to prove the concept that we can do missing middle housing, that we can do town homes in this town and that they will be successful. It's also a proof of concept that you can make some smaller, incremental changes to invite a few more families into our neighborhoods, and that's going to be just fine, that new neighbors are a good thing, and that we'd like to have more people coming in to be a part of our community.
Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway
The old buildings sat vacant for several years as the CDA and neighborhood leaders kept working to get new housing built on the site with significant input from the neighborhood on the design of the new buildings.
“It's been a number of years, and it's been a top priority for the neighborhood association, for the alder, and for the CDA board for us to take housing that was not able to be occupied and turn it into something brand new,” Department of Planning, Community and Economic Development Director and Community Development Authority (CDA) Executive Director Matt Wachter said.
The 6 new homes all include 3 bedrooms, measure at more than 2,000 square feet, and will be permanently affordable for people making up to 60% of the Area Median Income for Dane County. For 2025, that means individuals making up to $54,540 or households of four making up to $77,880 would be eligible.
| Household Size | 60% Area Median Income |
|---|---|
| 1 | $54,540 |
| 2 | $62,340 |
| 3 | $70,140 |
| 4 | $77,880 |
Many Madisonians are saying they're being priced out of Madison because of affordability, because they cannot live in the communities where their children go to school. But if we're going to have communities that are racially and economically mixed, we have to build toward that. We talk about affordable housing, but because of the mayor and the city council and the staff, they put that into action. So now we're moving from what's on paper, what's coming out of our mouths, but [now] we'll actually be able to open the door, knock on the door, and families will be able to live in this community.
Alder Barbara Harrington-McKinney, District 20