The Door County Homebuilders Association would love to see more projects like the recently approved workforce housing project in Sturgeon Bay, but they need a little assistance to make it happen. Early this month, Governor Tony Evers announced that Cherry Lanes in Sturgeon Bay was one of two housing projects in the state to receive Restore Main Street loans to rehabilitate housing on the second or third floors of existing buildings with commercial space on the ground level.  Cherry Lanes will receive $160,000 to provide additional housing units. The loans come from the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA), which oversees the $100 million Vacancy-to-Vitality, $100 million Restore Main Street, and $275 million Infrastructure Access loan programs, all available for application semi-annually.  The program excited the Door County Homebuilders Association when it was introduced earlier this year. Jan Guillette from the Door County Homebuilders Association says the rural nature of the area and current zoning restrictions hamper the program from expanding more in the county.

Guilette says the association is considering petitioning local municipalities to review their zoning code and see what can be done to adjust it so that other communities could potentially benefit from the program.