by Allyson Spottswood, FOX 11 News | Sun, April 30th 2023, 3:18 PM PDT
MARINETTE (WLUK) — Forced fixer-uppers that break the bank may be a thing of the past in the city of Marinette.
“This house will probably sell, I’d say, within the first couple weeks,” said Francine Kitkowski, broker/owner of Assist 2 Sell Buyers & Sellers Realty, while pointing to a small home.
Marinette has completed its first small home project to address the city’s growing residential housing need.
“The city had vacant parcels that we acquired from the county through an In Rem tax sale,” said Marinette Mayor Steve Genisot. "And those parcels were beyond repair. They were demoed and then just vacant lots."
This plan offers new housing at a more affordable rate for those looking for starter or retirement homes.
Among the requirements, the city requires at least 600 square feet of livable space.
"Beautify neighborhoods, improve values, and for consumers to actually have a brand new product that is probably more affordable than buying existing older homes in this crazy market that we have," added Kitkowski.
This house is the first of many small houses in the plan. It's currently listed on the higher end of the price range at just under $200,000.
The home is two bedrooms and one bathroom with a full-sized kitchen and living room at just under 900 square feet.
The property even features a one-car heated garage and is within the distance of many neighborhood recreation offerings.
Inside of Marinette’s first small home project April 26, 2023. (WLUK/Allyson Spottswood)
"We still have a high demand," said Kitkowski. "We still are seeing multiple offers, we're still seeing offers come in above this price."
The city is providing the land, sidewalks, sanitary and water extensions as well as an entry walkway to each home.
This is to encourage developers to jump start construction in the area.
There are already nine vacant lots ready for construction as a part of this continued plan.
"We'd love to see these 'tiny homes,' we call them, all throughout the community. We'd love to see a larger scale, maybe a small development of tiny homes," added Genisot.
Interested Vacant Residential Lot Developers can submit their proposals to the mayor’s office.