Habitat for Humanity® of the Greater La Crosse Region Unveils Innovative Homes to Expand Access to Attainable Housing

Hillsboro, WI. July 31, 2025- Habitat for Humanity of the Greater La Crosse Region, a nonprofit dedicated to bringing people together to build homes, communities and hope, celebrated four new homes in Hillsboro, Wisconsin, that will expand access to affordable homeownership through an innovative approach to home building and builder partnerships. The event featured home tours and remarks from local leaders with Habitat for Humanity and the City of Hillsboro, along with national housing experts from Clayton and Next Step Network. The program included a keynote address by Dennis Smith, Affordable Lending Manager at Freddie Mac.

The neighborhood will feature ten newly built Clayton CrossMod® homes, which are homes built to federal HUD code that maintain the look and feel of traditional site-built homes. These homes are designed to blend seamlessly into traditional neighborhoods while offering the cost-efficiency and speed of off-site construction. All CrossMod homes in the neighborhood will be built on permanent basements, marking a first-of-its-kind achievement for CrossMod homes.

Habitat for Humanity La Crosse selected CrossMod homes for this project because they offered the most affordable path to homeownership. The efficient way these homes are built allows builders and developers – like Habitat – to reduce construction costs and scale production and ultimately allows the nonprofit to bring more individuals and families into their homes more quickly.

“This development represents a bold step forward in our mission to make homeownership more accessible to working families,” said Kahya Fox, Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity of the Greater La Crosse Region. “With support from local partners, we’re able to offer affordable homes, downpayment assistance and energy-saving features that will reduce long-term costs for homeowners. This neighborhood serves as a replicable model for how we can address the housing crisis with smart design, strong partnerships and a commitment to equity.”

Three additional homes in the development will be reserved for Habitat for Humanity homeowners. These future homeowners will partner with Habitat to help build their homes alongside community volunteers as part of the program’s sweat equity model. The remaining homes in the neighborhood will be available at attainable price points, at or below the City of Hillsboro’s average home sale price of $350,050, with additional access to downpayment assistance and affordable mortgage options that Habitat brings to the table, further increasing financial accessibility for working families. This development is also expected to serve as a replicable model for future Habitat projects across Wisconsin, supported by a revolving loan program from the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA), based on the homes being piloted in Hillsboro.

Each home will also be eBuilt®, built to meet strict energy efficient performance guidelines set by the Department of Energy’s Zero Energy Ready Home Manufactured Home™ requirements. These high-performance homes are estimated to save homeowners up to 50% annually on energy costs1. To further enhance long-term energy savings, the homes will also feature integrated solar roof shingles and utilize battery backup power systems. In Hillsboro, these energy-saving features are estimated to save homeowners over $1,860 annually on average2, making homeownership even more affordable long-term.

“We are excited for this development as we continue to prioritize innovation and attainability. Our partnership with Habitat for Humanity of Greater LaCrosse - and other affiliates - is so important to our purpose here at Clayton to open doors to a better life. These homes serve as an example of how we are working together to bring homeownership within reach through innovative partnerships with nonprofit partners,” said Andrew Bryant, Business Development Manager at Clayton.

By combining affordability with long-term cost savings through energy-efficiency, these homes will offer an affordable path to homeownership and a stable foundation for future homeowners.

For more information, visit www.habitatlacrosse.org/.

1 energy.gov ZERH guidelines
2 Energy savings are based on electrical and gas energy consumption using NREL® BEopt™ to estimate annual energy consumption of a home built to DOE Zero Energy Ready Home™ guidelines compared to the same home built only to industry and HUD standards in Hillsboro, Wisconsin.

Home features were updated September 2025. Visit https://www.claytonbuilt.com/ebuilt for details.

About Clayton
Founded in 1956, Clayton is committed to opening doors to a better life through homeownership. Clayton is a leading single-family, values-driven home builder dedicated to attainable housing, sustainable practices, and creating a world-class experience for customers and team members. The company’s portfolio includes a comprehensive range of site-built, modern manufactured, Tiny, CrossMod® and modular housing. In 2024, Clayton built more than 60,000 homes across the country. For more information, visit claytonhomes.com.
CrossMod is a registered certification mark of the Manufactured Housing Institute.

About Habitat for Humanity of the Greater La Crosse Region
Habitat for Humanity of the Greater La Crosse Region is a nonprofit organization dedicated to building safe, decent, and affordable housing in partnership with families and the community. To learn more, volunteer, or donate, visit www.habitatlacrosse.org or call 608-785-2373.