Vacant school building offers solution to a rural town’s housing shortage

For two decades, the former high school in downtown Mayville in Dodge County has sat vacant.

Now, this community of 5,000 people, located an hour drive northwest of Milwaukee, hopes to use the old red brick school building to help solve a common problem in rural Wisconsin — a shortage of housing.

This week, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation announced it’s awarded the city $250,000 to turn the building into a 20-unit complex called the Albrecht School Apartments.

“Mayville is an example of one of Wisconsin’s amazing communities that is rebuilding and reinvesting in their downtown, and helping local businesses get started,” WEDC Secretary and CEO Missy Hughes said. “And so we wanted to provide support in one of the critical areas of need that we’re seeing all around the state, which is new housing. ”

[Adapted from: Vacant school building offers solution to a rural town’s housing shortage July 22, 2022 WPR]