PESHTIGO (NBC 26) — The City of Peshtigo is moving forward with a new workforce housing development project, meant to attract new workers to the area and help the small town grow.
Joe Beranek owns Evergreen Tools in Peshtigo. They make metal pieces for manufacturing equipment and fire suspension.
After more than a decade of operating in the area, he’s looking to expand.
“Our business is growing and it’s growing to the point where we need to buy additional equipment and they’re very large, so we’re looking to add on about another 10,000 square feet later this year, and with that, we’d be adding some new employees,” Beranek says.
The issue, he says, is attracting workers to the area.
“Expanding is the easy part, the hard part is getting employees to do what we need them to do. It's a challenge to get people to move up to the Peshtigo, Marinette area,” he says.
City of Peshtigo Mayor Katie Berman is hoping a new workforce housing development project will help this issue.
“It's been hard for people to find someplace to live when they want to come here and move here for jobs,” she says. “There are a lot of opportunities in Peshtigo, and this is something that will entice people in all different sectors.”
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The project has been in development for two years, but this week, the Peshtigo City Council approved two potential concepts. Whichever developer is chosen by the city will use the concepts as inspiration.
Berman says the project will likely cost about $6 million, but the city will apply for about $2 million through state grants.
The concepts approved by council include around 30 homes, built on city-owned land off of West Front Road. The homes would be smaller and less expensive, targeting working individuals and families.
“This is a really exciting moment for us,” Berman says. “You don’t often see things like this in the small town of Peshtigo.”
The development will be on the border between the Town of Peshtigo and the City of Peshtigo, so Berman says it will benefit local businesses and the surrounding areas.
“We're a small, rural area and projects like this will benefit not just us, but the communities around us for generations to come,” she says.
Mike Kunesh is the chairman for InVenture North, a local economic development and community enhancement organization.
Kunesh says they’ve worked with the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation’s Thrive Rural Wisconsin program to develop similar workforce housing projects in Wausaukee and Gillet.
“So we now have three communities within about 45 minutes of each other here in Northeast Wisconsin that are being successful in finding these new ways to develop and bring more people into their communities,” Kunesh says.
Workforce housing projects could be a solution to helping rural Wisconsin grow.
“Have something that’s sustainable and gives us growth for several generations,” Berman says.
Berman says they still welcome public feedback on the project. Learn more about the plans here.
