Three housing developments are planned for 2026, according to Oneida County Economic Development Corporation Executive Director Tony Pharo.
There’s a 112-unit housing development that broke ground already in Minocqua, a 48-unit 55 and older development set to break ground in Rhinelander this Spring, and an eight-unit workforce housing development in Woodruff that recently received an $822,000 WHEDA Loan from the state.
Pharo says the Woodruff one is being built in connection with Hampton Inn.
“Before the Hampton Inn gets built, we're putting eight workforce units on the property. From what I understand the goal would be, is to even have those done and so people that were working on the hotel would be able to live in those workforce units. Then after the hotel was built, they would have housing available for employees that they hired at the hotel,” said Pharo.
Pharo says one of the biggest challenges facing new housing developments in Oneida County is the lack of infrastructure like getting water and sewer connections. WHEDA loans, like the one the Woodruff project received, can help get over that hurdle.
In addition to these three projects, Pharo says he’s hoping to announce a couple more in the next three to six months.
“We have a developer that's really working on trying to find some affordable ways to put single family houses, you know, two bedrooms, three bedrooms, two baths, and try to keep it in a price range where people in the manufacturing world can afford to buy those houses,” said Pharo.
Pharo does caution that while they’re working toward affordable, he doesn’t see a way of getting back to pre-pandemic price ranges.
“We can't ask a developer to do a project and lose money. They're just charging based on supply of what lumber costs and what supplies cost, and the same markup they made before COVID is what they're looking to make now, and it just costs more,” said Pharo. “Unfortunately, I don't know any way we can change that at the present time, because cost of goods have just went up.”
A 2025 housing study found that Oneida County needs about 200 more rental units and 1,200 owner-occupied units in the next four years.
