| Additional Information: | The first iteration of the Green Bay Housing Authority was created in December of 1945 to secure affordable housing for returning veterans. On April 16, 1946, the Mayor and Common Council passed a resolution recognizing “an emergency because of the present critical housing shortage” and, by an act of the Common Council, this new Green Bay Housing Authority was directed to use $220,000 for the purchase, dismounting, and re-erecting one hundred houses. All the houses to be purchased had been constructed for and used by defense industry workers at Kingsford Heights, Indiana, a wartime community built to accommodate the Kingsbury Ordinance Plant which employed over 20,000 people. The Greene and Gust Construction Company, under the direction of Elmer Gust of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, was awarded a $131,200 contract to package the houses in Kingsford Heights, Indiana, and to relocate and erect the houses in Green Bay. The price to purchase the 100 units from the Federal Public Housing Authority was $63,788.50. The allotment of houses to Green Bay included 15 one-bedroom units, 60 two-bedroom units, and 25 three-bedroom units. House prices were set at $2,500 for a one-bedroom unit erected on its site, $2,850 for a two-bedroom, and $3,250 for a three-bedroom.
The first demountable house was erected at 1202 S. Oakland Avenue for the family of Rufus Hermann in 1946. In total, 87 units were erected on sites provided by the City, and 13 were erected on privately owned lots. All of these demountable houses were quick to sell, and the program was considered to be both successful and a wise investment for the City. By August of 1947, after all the houses had been constructed and sold, it had become clear that the program was left with a surplus of $27,000, which was refunded to the 100 veterans who had purchased the houses. The Green Bay Housing Authority was disbanded the following year. The housing authority was reformed in 1968 in response to the federal 1968 Housing Act. The Green Bay Housing Authority applied for and received funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to finance the construction of affordable housing for the elderly. The Green Bay Housing Authority has continued to manage and develop properties throughout the city to the present.
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