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Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA)

The Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA) is a quasi-government entity formed by the Wisconsin Legislature to create affordable housing opportunities throughout the state. WHEDA is considered to be the Authority on housing in Wisconsin.

History

When the 38th Governor of Wisconsin, Patrick Lucey (Democratic, 1971-1977), came into office, he realized that the state’s housing needs were not being met. In May of 1971, Lucey urged the state and federal government, in addition to the private sector, to form a housing authority to address the state’s affordable housing shortage.

In February 1972, the Wisconsin Housing Finance Authority (WHFA) was created under Chapter 234 by the Wisconsin Legislature and affirmed by the Wisconsin Supreme Court in June 1973. The State of Wisconsin appropriated $250,000 in initial seed money to guarantee that WHFA would be able to meet the state’s housing needs.

WHFA began program operations in 1973 and its financial status experienced unprecedented growth. By the end of Fiscal Year (FY) 1974, more than $25 million in construction and permanent financing was approved by WHFA for six developments that provided 1,162 apartment units. As of 1975, WHFA was the United States' first state Housing Finance Agency (HFA) to market long-term bonds that finance Section 8 multifamily housing developments, and by 1976, the Authority was the first HFA to have newly constructed units in occupancy.

WHFA’s endeavors in its early years led to a yearly financial performance of $334 million in total assets by the end of 1979 and allowed the Authority to repay in full the $250,000 initial seed money to the state.

In 1983, the Authority expanded the scope of its work to economic development projects such as business and agriculture financing as well as grant funding and investment, leading to the change in name from the Wisconsin Housing Finance Authority (WHFA) to the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA).