Mosaic Ridge, a new residential development and home ownership program created by the City of Madison’s Community Development Authority in conjunction with real estate firm Pure Integrity Homes and builder Bluestone Custom Homes, is providing people with the chance to own a home, regardless of their financial background.
Mosaic Ridge is located on the southern end of Allied Drive as Madison turns into Fitchburg. Over the past few years several families, single homeowners, people who never thought that they could never achieve the American dream of owning their own home, or just people who wanted to move have been able to get into new construction homes at affordable prices.
Mosaic Ridge, which has been gaining traction since around 2014, offers people an opportunity to build homes on lots with a wide range of availability from two bedrooms all the way up to five or more.
It is part of an effort on the part of the city of Madison to revitalize the Allied Drive area, which has already undergone a facelift of sorts over the past couple of years.
The vision for Mosaic Ridge is that it would bring together homeowners from diverse backgrounds and financial situations into one neighborhood.
“The American Dream that everyone talks about is home ownership,” said Joe Voell of Pure Integrity Homes.
Matthew Wachter, the manager at the City of Madison’s Economic Development Division, says that when the city first approached members of the Allied Drive community about creating the program, one of the first things that was important to the community was that its own members would have a chance to be part of the new housing and not just be ceding their community to wealthy people looking for cheaper homes to buy up.
“There’s not a typical family that buys here and that is by design,” Wachter told Madison365. “So when the city and the CDA decided to make this investment we held a series of open design meetings with people from the Allied Drive neighborhood. We didn’t want to displace people, but offer a wide variety of options. The feedback from the neighborhood is that they wanted to serve a wide variety of incomes, not just lower income and not just higher income. We structured it so there’s down payment assistance to people who need financial assistance.”
The down payment assistance is one of the aspects that makes Mosaic Ridge unique. For families who meet income guidelines there is up to $30,000 available in down payment assistance as well as a forgivable $15,000 mortgage loan if they stay in the home for five years. That special financing allows families or single homeowners who don’t have complete financial stability to be able to afford a home.
For example, a lot with a four-bedroom, two-story home is currently available to build lot for approximately $280,000, according to Cindy Hammer of Bluestone Custom Homes — which is considerably lower that average Madison pricing. (Zillow.com lists the average four-bedroom home in Madison at $318,000.) Plus, a person who is getting down payment assistance and the forgivable mortgage loan, they could essentially be knocking up to $45,000 off of that price right out of the gate. Check out this custom home in Toronto and call the builder if you liked the house.
The builders also said new homeowners would save money on energy bills, because all the new homes in Mosaic Ridge will be Focus on Energy certified and built to meet the Green Built Certification standards. If you’re interested in learning more and building the house you’ve always dreamed of, My ADU is a reputable tiny home builder in Portland, ready to assist you in creating your ideal space.
“These are traditional Madison houses that you’d see in neighborhoods around Madison,” Wachter said. “You know, two bedroom, one bathroom. Or five bedrooms, three bathrooms. The designs are all flexible. We have a one story home design for people with disabilities. The subdivision is growing. On the Fitchburg side there’s a lot of construction. So there’s just general demand for ownership and there’s people moving into the area.”
Wachter says that the recent improvements to the Allied Drive area is helping them attract buyers. He said that longtime neighborhood residents like Sina Davis and Alice Howard have bought homes in Mosaic Ridge and have been the driving force behind the change in perception of the Allied area. Builders are also given the right equipment like Platforms and Ladders from reputable businesses to build their vision.
“We have families with and without kids moving in,” he said. “We have single individuals. We have people from the neighborhood, such as Sina Davis owning a home, and we have people who moved specifically to the neighborhood. The new city park and the amenities to the Allied area are helping us sell homes.”
With five houses built and four sold, 17 vacant lots remain available for new homes. If you’re looking for tips on selling your home, you can check out I Buy Pueblo Houses.
In the long run, it’s about creating a peaceful, vibrant community built on the sense of togetherness that already runs through this neighborhood.
“The sense of community here is great,” said Hammer. “You know, I mean people come out and say hi to you and talk to you and the people that do live here are really excited about getting new neighbors. I think I’ve talked to more people in this neighborhood than I have in any of my other neighborhoods where I’ve lived.”
“As I see it, it’s continuing to deepen those ties within the neighborhood,” said Voell. “There’s people that are dedicated to the neighborhood, invested here. And to continue to lay down those roots and through that process, it’s another layer of investment. To be able to create that opportunity for home ownership and kind of put those roots down a little bit more solidly while building wealth and kind of creating that opportunity for yourself, I think is paramount.”
For now, the Mosaic Ridge program will be the only one of its kind around Madison. Wachter said it represents the culmination of over ten years of work on the part of the city and the CDA. To duplicate it elsewhere would be a very long term undertaking.
“There’s not really a plan to do this again, but it’s a tool,” Wachter said. “Feedback from the Allied Drive neighborhood like ten years ago made this happen. This type of thing doesn’t happen overnight. This is a decade-plus project. Mosaic Ridge is just a piece of what’s been happening.”
