City of Washburn Housing Development – Aurora Place
Here is some information on Aurora Place (PDF), Please note, the attached site plans and renderings of the proposed Aurora Place development are current as of August 27, 2024 and are subject to change.
We’ll share information as the project progresses. For now, check out the FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions
Environmental Review Report (PDF, 89pages,

Housing for Independent Seniors in Cornucopia
For more than a year, a group of residents in the Town of Bell has been meeting to discuss the need for new housing for independent seniors in the Town of Bell. With support from the Town Board and UW-Extension, the Bayfield County Housing Authority applied for and received a two-year technical assistance grant from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation and the Office of Rural Prosperity to conduct a robust public input process and identify the partners and resources necessary for implementation. The grant award was one of ten across the state and includes $50,000 to cover pre-development expenses. 

As part of this public engagement effort, the Senior Housing Work Group has released a housing survey in the Town of Bell and hosted monthly public meetings to answer questions and address issues of concern. This work will also include a two-day “Design Charrette” in Cornucopia (September 26-27), wherein community members will work with designers, architects, land use planners, and housing professionals to develop a shared vision for the proposed project. Information and ideas gathered during this session will be used to develop a Request for Proposals.

A Design Charette was held on Thursday & Friday, September 26 & 27 at the Community Center.
For updates as the project progresses, please follow Cornucopia Senior Housing on Facebook.

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Thanks to a unique partnership between Bayfield County and the University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension, the County is home to the first and only Housing Educator within the UW System. This pilot position means that Bayfield County communities can benefit from additional capacity and technical support at every step in the process of developing new housing – from assessing local needs and priorities, to building community support and crafting Requests for Proposals that attract the right partners to get the job done.

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Helpful Resources for Local Government

Bayfield County Housing Readiness & Resources (PDF, 2 pgs, 289 KB)

USDA-Rural Development: Committed to helping improve the economy and quality of life in rural America. Through our programs, we help rural Americans in many ways https://www.rd.usda.gov/

Housing and Urban Development: www.hud.gov/hudprograms

Federal Housing Finance Agency: www.fhfa.gov

Housing Assistance Council: https://ruralhome.org/

Helpful Resources for Individuals

Northwest Regional Housing Program (PDF, 2 pgs, 196 KB)

Northwest Wisconsin Community Service Agency: https://northwest-csa.org/housing/

City of Washburn & Bayfield County Housing Authority: https://bayfieldcountyhousing.org/

HUD Rental Assistance: https://www.hud.gov/topics/rental_assistance

About the Housing Educator

The Housing Educator will help communities navigate and coordinate housing development processes in partnership with local governments and other stakeholders. Initial focus includes:

– Implementing community-based solutions and programs developed in partnership with the WHEDA Rural Affordable Workforce Housing Initiative, including local land trust model development, small developer engagement, cross-community coordination for scattered site development, and addressing housing-focused zoning needs.

– Supporting communities through the process of engaging developers with RFP issuance.

– Developing communication strategies to build equitable community awareness and fluency around housing needs and solutions.

The Housing Educator uses a community-driven approach to address local community housing needs in an effort to improve economic resiliency and overall quality of life. The Housing Educator also plays a lead role in supporting education and research related to rural housing development efforts that serve Bayfield County and other rural areas of Wisconsin by:

– Assessing housing market-related dynamics such as demand, supply, inputs (e.g., building supplies, labor, interest rates), population change, workforce needs, housing development strategies, and how these dynamics lead to different needs, outcomes, and appropriate goals.

– Providing guidance to communities as they navigate the complexities of housing development (e.g., dynamics between community, developers, and funders; coordination public-private interests and investments; pulling and supplying necessary data to inform grant applications, housing policies, and development decisions).

– Building organizational capacity among local governments to address emerging housing needs.

– Developing regional collaborations, partnerships, and educational responses (e.g. workshops, peer networks, facilitated processes) that meet these challenges and focus on working with state, local and tribal agencies to address housing challenges through community-led processes.

University of Wisconsin-Madison Extension Bayfield County || Courthouse-117 E 5th Street, PO Box 218 || Washburn, WI  54891

711 for Wisconsin Relay (TDD)

Kelly Westlund, Housing Outreach Educator ||715-373-3286 || Email