Travaux Inc., real estate arm of Milwaukee Housing Authority, will play a major role in the city's push to use housing vouchers
Talis Shelbourne
Westlawn Gardens, College Court, Hmong American Peace Academy and downtown's Convent Hill may seem like a random collection of buildings, but the developments have one thing in common: Travaux Inc.
Travaux is the real estate development arm of the Milwaukee Housing Authority.
With an operating budget of roughly $2.2 million, Travaux handles property management, construction, development and consulting and will play an integral role as physical affordable housing units run by the Housing Authority are converted into project-based Housing Choice Voucher units.
Travaux is one of similar entities around the nation
Travaux was created after the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development encouraged housing authorities to develop real estate arms to help with development in 2007.
Other examples include the Will County Housing Development Corp. in Joliet, Illinois, Norman Affordable Housing Corp. of Norman, Oklahoma, and Los Angeles LOMOD Corp. in Los Angeles.
Inspired by a sign he saw while vacationing in Paris 10 years ago, Tony Perez, the secretary-executive director of the Housing Authority, decided to name Milwaukee's new entity, "Travaux."
The Housing Authority received $98,000 of seed money and a $3 million line of credit to create Travaux, according to Housing Authority communications coordinator Amy Hall. Travaux uses a combination of federal HUD funds, private investment, commercial loans and tax credits to finance construction projects.
As an arm of the Housing Authority, Travaux partners with other organizations, such as PNC Bank, to finance projects and advises smaller housing authorities and nonprofits throughout the state.
What does Travaux do?
Both the Housing Authority and Travaux are local extensions of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Travaux has four lines of business: real estate development, construction and general contracting, financing structure and property management, Hall said. It has 50 employees, some of whom are part-time and contractors, and is run by a board of directors, who are approved by the housing authority's board. Perez is president of Travaux.
Warren Jones, vice president of construction, is in charge of Travaux's construction. Other leaders include Scott Simon, vice president of development, and Greg Anderson, senior asset management director.
Travaux has many projects in its roster, including renovations to Holton Terrace, Beecher Court and Merrill Park.
One of the Housing Authority's flagship public housing developments is Westlawn Gardens, which was renovated in 2010 and won a national community planning award in 2018. The development features a walking park, geothermal-heated buildings, LED streetlights and carpetless units to help reduce asthma rates, Jones said.
"I think Westlawn is a wonderful development and will continue to help reinvigorate that entire neighborhood," Jones said. "Hopefully, we can do something similar to all of our developments in the future."
Travaux is also working on the $150 million Caroline project to develop a 32-story building with luxury and low-income housing units. The development will occur on a Housing Authority property formerly known as Convent Hill near downtown.
Contact Talis Shelbourne at (414) 403-6651 or tshelbourn@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @talisseer and message her on Facebook at @talisseer.
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