Norwich City Manager John Salomone wanted to use a good portion of the city’s American Rescue Plan grants to create a plan that would attack blighted housing, boost the city tax rolls and create more affordable homeownership.
Pretty quickly, he realized he didn’t have to create the program. It existed in the successful, well-respected local agency Habitat for Humanity of Eastern Connecticut.
“We had a concept originally to take the abandoned and foreclosed properties, and instead of just turning around and selling them, to renovate and sell them, so they would go back into the neighborhood as positive places,” Salomone said. “Then I started thinking about it. I’ve always admired the houses that Habitat puts up, and they have a lot of expertise, so maybe we could partner and enhance the project for us, take the administration away and leverage the money and get more out of it.”
The Day - Chelsea Groton reinvents Norwich branch - News from southeastern Connecticut
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The Day - City, Habitat making homeownership possible - News from southeastern Connecticut
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Waterford Local businessman Scott Gladstone, best known for his ownership interest in several Wireless Zone stores in the region, is the most recent developer to pitch an idea for affordable housing to the Planning and Zoning Commission during a meeting Tuesday night.
The commission is in the middle of drafting an affordable housing plan in an effort to increase the percentage of housing deemed affordable in town by state statute, and developers are showing interest.
Meanwhile, two other affordable housing projects are in preliminary stages. There is the prospect of two apartment buildings on Turnpike Road and small, single-family homes expected on Great Neck Road that are not affordable by statute but Planning Director Abby Piersall said they have the potential for lower price points. She expects applications soon.
Wreaking havoc : CT towns scramble for money to dispose of thousands of dead trees
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