Metcalfe Park is a neighborhood in north west Milwaukee. It’s been called one of the poorest and most dangerous neighborhoods in the city. But at an event held last week, residents and leaders shared how they’re reinvesting in the neighborhood through community-owned housing to protect the residents most vulnerable to displacement.
Melody McCurtis is the deputy director and lead organizer at Metcalfe Park Community Bridges, a resident-led nonprofit that supports neighborhood investment and revitalization. We’re standing outside of a restored home. Its new front porch and blue-colored siding is a stark contrast to the vacant and boarded-up home next door.
"So even our house right now is sitting next to a privately-owned development that’s been sitting like that since 2019," McCurtis says. "Our community deserves to come outside and see something beautiful. Unfortunately, we can’t do anything about these private developments, but we can do something about these city foreclosures."
Metcalfe Park Community Bridges started this work during the pandemic, when large households in the neighborhood suffered from a lack of space, poor living conditions and frustrations with landlords. The organization’s community-owned housing model is meant to help people become homeowners and keep low-income, long-term residents like Patrice Gransberry in Metcalfe Park.
"I’m just totally blessed that I was able to be in Metcalfe because I never heard of a community trying to build homes to get low-income people into homes that they can afford," says Gransberry.
Gransberry became a volunteer at Community Bridges shortly after moving to the neighborhood about seven years ago. She needs a larger home for her family, who helps care for her. The housing initiative goes beyond providing affordable homes. Community Bridges is partnering with housing resource agencies to educate homeowners. Programs will provide them with resources for home repairs. McCurtis shared why a community-led solution is needed in Metcalfe Park.
"We kept sending our community to different entities around housing and those entities were not meeting their needs," she says. "One, they couldn’t get banked. Two, they didn’t have credit or their credit was shot. Three, a lot of houses that was available could not house their family sizes."
Homes will cost $105,000. The program will use a lease-to-own structure. McCurtis explains what that means for new homeowners.
"After they’re done paying that down in 15 years or before, this home is theirs. They get the deed; it’s their house. So they’re paying onto their future and they didn’t have to go through a bank to do that. They didn’t have to get denied or anything to do that. The community is the bank, essentially," she says.
Community Bridges purchased the foreclosed homes for $1 each through the city’s MERI 2.0 program. Through donations and partnerships with developers, including Keith Turner, 10 new homes are in development. Two families, including Gransberry’s, will move into homes next month. Gransberry picked the siding, flooring, room colors and more for her new home.
"I also had a garden bed put in, so I’ll possibly start putting some food back there," says Gransberry. "Now they’re going to paint the porch so I’m going to pick what color the porch is going to be, also."
For Gransberry, being selected for this program is an opportunity for her to pay it forward.
"I was one of those people on the list and I wanted the community to keep growing to help other people. I want to be able to help them also," she says.
McCurtis also shared an announcement: Community Bridges purchased a building last month that will provide the neighborhood with a community space, laundromat, café and more.
