High Cost, Low Benefit: Why Shorewood’s Affordable Housing Deal Falls Short

The Spoerl proposal calls for 19 units: 8 one-bedroom, 7 two-bedroom, and 4 three-bedroom. Not all will be rented below market rates, and the proposed affordable rents offer little real savings to tenants.

In June, I reviewed 70 Shorewood rental listings from Zillow and Apartments.com. The data shows renters already have access to a healthy supply of value-priced apartments at market rates. The bar charts below compare Spoerl’s proposed rents with the average rent of the lowest-priced five rental units in Shorewood (shown in red).

My analysis of the 19-unit building found:

• Only 13 units would rent for less than the lowest market rents (30 occupants).
• 6 units would rent for more than the lowest market rents.
• Total monthly savings for those 13 units: $4,830.
• Annual tenant savings: ~$58,000.

Some of the units have savings of 50% off the lowest market rents, with an average savings of 30% for the 13 units renting for less than the lowest market rents. I presented this data to the board at 16 June 2025 board meeting.

When rent savings are measured against the $1.6–$3.2 million Shorewood contribution, this generates a public return of 1.1% to 2.2%, which includes the loss of $23,000 in parking revenue. This “cost” figure also excludes millions in other public financial support. Meanwhile, the developer stands to earn a 9.5% internal rate of return, which is reasonable for a private investment but offers minimal benefit to the community.

Conclusion: This project does not deliver a sufficient public return to justify the level of public support being proposed.