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08/27/2019 01:15 PMThe move to add workforce housing to town on town-owned property is forging ahead. On Aug. 19 Board of Selectmen (BOS) authorized First Selectman Matt Hoey to negotiate a developer agreement for the Woodruff property south of the green.
The town’s preferred contractor will be NeighborWorks New Horizons of New Haven, according to Town Planner George Kral. Once the town reaches a contract with NeighborWorks “hopefully in the next few weeks,” the project can move forward toward acquiring permits and other planning, Kral said, with construction work potentially beginning in the spring.
The Woodruff property is bordered by Drive Way, Stone House Lane, and Old Whitfield Street in close proximity to the train station.
Hoey said that goals at the state level aimed at increasing affordable housing was part of the impetus of the project.
Guilford is “significantly below” the 10 percent affordable housing mark set by the state, Hoey said, but he hopes the town will “continue to show interest and commitment” toward increasing the amount.
“This shows a good faith effort on our part,” Hoey said.
There is currently only one other property in Guilford that meets the definition of affordable housing, on Apple Tree Lane near Hubbard Park. Those units were also built by NeighborWorks, Kral said, which was part of the reason why the town was eager to work with them again.
The definition of affordable housing is defined based on location and median income. For Guilford, where the median household income hovers in the $98,000 to $99,000 range, a home is considered affordable if a household can pay up to 30 percent of its monthly income for monthly housing costs; according to state guidelines, that Guilford household would have an annual income of approximately $76,000 and could afford $1,980 monthly.
Hoey said that having a more diverse community and giving more people the opportunity to live in Guilford will be another positive of the development.
“It gives all of us the opportunity to share our community,” he said.
Though nothing has been decided yet, Kral said the town is likely to model the new development off of the Apple Tree Lane property. Currently, the town leases the Apple Tree property to NeighborWorks for $1 a year, which helps subsidize the project, he said.
NeighborWorks has already proposed the same model for Woodruff, Kral said.
Guilford has a handful of housing specifically set aside for senior tenants, Kral said, but the Woodruff development will be targeted at working people, single parents, and families, with a mix of two- and three-bedroom units. Kral said this design is due to a needs assessment conducted by the Guilford Foundation, which determined there was a “priority need” for housing that could serve that demographic.
NeighborWorks’ initial proposal was for 16 units, though Kral said that number could vary as the project continues on.
Kral said that the building would not be subsidized to the point that people could live there without working; that while rent would likely be well below market, it would likely require “low-moderate wage” for someone to afford.
NeighborWorks will also research grants and other funding after securing the contract. The amount of time it takes a contractor to complete that process is something that often varies, Kral said, and could affect the project’s timeline.