By MaryBeth Matzek | Photography by Hillary Schave
The deepest pain can often become an individual’s biggest passion — something Anne Michels knows well.
When her father needed to move into senior housing and stay in his rural community, Michels couldn’t find an ideal residential option for him. But it inspired her to create a nonprofit organization, Green Pastures Living, to develop affordable, accessible independent senior housing in small communities.
“I looked around and no one was doing this. People kept telling me it was something [that was] needed and a great idea,” Michels says. “But it’s not easy. It’s hard to make the numbers work, but I’m creative and I will figure this out.”
Green Pastures Living obtains the proper municipal approvals, secures construction financing and covers any additional gap funding. The target customer is the middle-class, retired workforce. This group of people do not qualify for low-income housing, but market-rate housing is out of their financial grasp.
Michels’ goal for 2025 is to secure a developer agreement and municipal approval for her first property development. If everything goes as planned, Green Pastures Living aims to break ground on one, possibly two, projects in 2025. She is collaborating with two nonprofits in Oregon and Janesville that are eager to bring affordable senior housing to their communities. Setzke Custom Homes and Amwood Homes are on board to bring these projects to life.
“We are so close to making this happen,” she says.
Rayelle Berola of Sub-Zero praises Michels for the time she spends educating community members and leaders about the need for affordable senior housing and inviting them to be part of the solution.
“Anne has done the research and is lifting a need that is becoming larger by the year in our community, pouring in her energy and connections, even when it’s not her natural introverted preference,” she says.
WHAT WOMAN INSPIRES YOU?
“Mary Ann Drescher, the former CEO of Attic Angel Association, is one of my senior advisors and she is an inspiration. She laid out for me what I need to do and has helped me make a lot of the necessary connections.”
