Guilford Conducting Affordable Housing Feasibility Study

GUILFORD, CT — Guilford received a $50,000 grant from the State of Connecticut Department of Housing for an affordable housing feasibility study on the town-owned Woodruff/Driveway property, officials said Friday.

The Board of Selectmen recently voted to contract with Patriquin Architects to perform an Affordable Housing Feasibility Study on the Woodruff/Driveway Property. The cost of the study is $48,800 and will be paid for using a $50,000 grant the town received from the State of Connecticut Department of Housing. State Representative Sean Scanlon was instrumental in helping the town secure the grant, town officials said.

"I strongly support the town's efforts to improve access to affordable housing in our community and I am proud to have helped them secure this grant to further that goal," said Scanlon in a news release. "21st century suburban affordable housing is not the large concrete buildings of yesteryear; it's an apartment where a young teacher or firefighter can live while they save for their first home or where a senior couple who recently downsized can afford so they can stay in the community they love. I look forward to working with First Selectman Hoey and other leaders in our community to create more affordable housing options for our residents."

This feasibility study is the next step in a process that has been ongoing for a number of years to bring more affordable housing units to the town.

The town previously received a $20,000 grant to develop an inventory of available properties close to public transit and asses their suitability for multi-family affordable housing units. The Board of Selectmen then appointed the Housing for Economic Development Committee to facilitate this process. A total of eight sites were initially identified, but after careful review, the only town-owned parcel located at Woodruff/Driveway, was deemed to have the most potential for an affordable housing development.

The committee has noted that this would be a smaller family housing development with two to three bedroom units as opposed to elderly housing developments that are mainly one bedroom units. The final number of units will be dependent on what a sewage system could accommodate.

If this site is determined to be physically feasible, the town would then solicit proposals from interested developers and gather input from the public. The Town anticipates receiving the final report from Patriquin Architects within a matter of months.

According to Selectman Sandra Ruoff, who is Chair of the Housing for Economic Development Committee, “The state has established goals for affordable housing units in each City and Town. Guilford has been very proactive in striving toward that goal while working to increase affordable housing availability.”

“This is a tremendous opportunity to address a much needed challenge, a lack of affordable housing options for our residents,” said First Selectman Matthew Hoey in a news release. “We are hopeful that the feasibility study will prove the Woodruff/Driveway property to be a viable site to develop and increase affordable housing opportunities for our community.”