La Crosse programs helping families move into new centralized homes in city

Woodwards moved in with help of Mayo, as well

The city of La Crosse has been working with employers, and others, to bring more families to houses close to the central city.

One family taking advantage of incentive programs has just moved into a new house on Ninth Street, across from Lincoln Middle School.

Yesterday, Mayor Tim Kabat led a delegation welcoming the Woodward family to that new home. Kabat said the house constructed by Western Technical College students shows how the various partners can work together

“Because obviously we’ve got limited dollars,” Kabat said, “and the fact that we’ve been able to build these partnerships and work with the Mayos and Westerns and the neighborhoods to really increase the amount of houses we’re able to construct.”

Tyler and Cassie Woodward said those partnerships helped remove some confusion from the home-buying process, while also saving them some money through special loans.

“She had learned about the program through Mayo with the $5,000 toward a home,” Tyler Woodward said. “And we’re like, ‘We might be able to make this work! We might be able to do this!’”

Through a grant program at Mayo, the Woodwards were given $5,000 from the hospital toward the home. The grant is forgiven as long as Cassie Woodward remains employed at Mayo and they live in the home five years.