New Haven Register (Sunday) (New Haven, CT)
Madison affordable housing project advances
State grants tax credits to help fund 31-unit apartment project
MADISON — After four years of working to get a 31-unit affordable housing development off the ground, the project got a jump-start with help from the state.
Two nonprofit agencies, Hope Partnership LLC and the Caleb Group, hope to begin construction in early spring 2023 on The Wellington at Madison at 131 Cottage Road.
The Connecticut Housing Finance Authority recently authorized $560,000 in 10-year federal tax credits for the project, which will provide $3.7 million in funding over the 10-year period.
This was great news for both affordable housing groups.
“Madison has a dearth of affordable housing,” said Dave Carswell, president of Essex-based Hope Partnership.
Marianne McDermott of Boston-based Caleb Group noted that rents in Connecticut have increased sharply due to the pandemic and resulting real estate boom.
“COVID has whacked this market out,” she said.
Called a “mixed income development,” the $11 million project will include converting the 1808 Henry Josiah Meigs house and barn into four one-bedroom apartments. Some of the original interior will be preserved along with the exterior of the building, according to McDermott.
The 2.6 acre-site is now home to four completed rental units, which are occupied. The other 23 units will be located in four townhouse-style buildings with a mix of one-, two- and threebedroom units, according to Suzanne Decavele, director of real estate at Caleb.
The new townhouses will have clapboard siding and brick veneer, with gabled roofs and asphalt shingles. Interior finishes will consist of a combination of wall-towall carpeting, wood floors as well as vinyl and ceramic tile. Water runoff will be accomplished via aluminum gutters/leaders, while the windows will be doublehung and crank-out in style.
A separate structure will be built to house a community room and offices for property management and resident services. The development will be LEED platinum certified, offer free broadband access in the community building and utilities will be paid for by the owner.
The property will have seven units available for households with incomes up to 25 percent of area median income, 13 units at 50 percent AMI, four at 60 percent AMI and seven market-rate units. The AMI for Madison is $93,000, according to the Madison CT Affordable Housing Plan for 2022-2027.
Rent will be charged on a sliding scale based on 30 percent of the tenant’s qualifying income for each tier, according to McDermott.
The Caleb Group has built and managed 25 properties with 1,858 units of affordable housing in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Connecticut.
Developments in Connecticut include: Village at Killingly in Dayville, Village Heights in Willimantic, Frost Homestead in Waterbury and East Wind Village in Plainfield.
For Essex-based Hope Partnership Inc., The Wellington will be its third development. The group got a head start on The Wellingtown by buying a property that was pre-approved for multifamily housing, according Carswell.
The previous developer had gotten zoning approvals and already had done “a lot of the preliminary work — the heavy lifting, frankly,” he said.
And, the town was welcoming, he said. “The town of Madison, the officials, the selectman’s office, First Selectman Peggy Lyons and the entire all of the Board of Selectman — regardless of party, as well as local and state officials — they were very, very supportive of this development.”
McDermott agreed, “When there is not pushback from the local government, it really has a very ‘come on in’ quality to it.”
“Caleb is really committed to bringing affordable housing to communities that benefit the people who need to live in affordable housing … and that’s one of the reasons we’re excited to partner with Hope is that they share this commitment and philosophy,” she said.
Madison is a “community rich in opportunity” with
convenient transportation — the development is on the bus line — good schools, opportunities for employment in the area and recreation, and easy access to high quality medical care, she added.
“There’s a really terrific benefit for people — not just the people who will live in this housing, but the community itself. To broaden the diversity of the community in at least the economic way,” said McDermott. “And provide opportunities for people whose household income might is below the area median income.”
“And we know that many service jobs, many people living on fixed incomes — there are a lot of different households that will meet that standard — far more than will be the number of units that Madison creates,” she said.
Carswell agreed, “It’s the quintessential New England town, but it is missing this component of affordable housing.”
Caleb will stay involved after the project is built. In
addition to onsite property management, “we provide service coordination that works with residents to both help them access resources in the community,” McDermott said, to help tenants “foster a sense of community a sense of neighborhood.”
That aspect was important in Caleb’s other properties — especially during COVID.
“During COVID we pivoted,” McDermott said. They made sure residence had access to food — cooked meals and the ingredients to make home meals. They also held vaccine and booster clinics.
Caleb works with its younger residents as well as older ones.
“We’ve run summer programs for young people to make sure they get free lunch. They continue brainengaging activities …they have positive outdoor activities to participate in,” she said. “For older people living alone — often that can be a recipe for declining health or declining eating habits, or socialization can be challenging.”
“We hire people locally to ensure they have a knowledge of all the resources and they already have connections — so that community is part of the larger community,” she added. “Our staff is very committed to working locally to ensure that we’re good neighbors.”
The Wellington in Madison has made progress in fits and starts after Hope Partnership bought the Dowler property at Cottage Road in 2018.
The buyer, Cottage Road LLC, formerly was a joint venture between Hope and the Women’s Institute for Housing and Community Development, which ended up withdrawing from the project a few months later, according to Carswell.
After a yearlong search, Hope Partnership found Caleb in October 2020. Last fall, Madison officials approved a 20-year local property tax abatement for the project.
“We interviewed a number of development partners,” Carswell said. “We knew of Caleb’s fine reputation in New England. Their mission was closely aligned with Hope Partnership.”
Cottage Road LLC applied for CHFA funding in 2021 and were rejected, only to be awarded the amount this year.
The location of The Wellington is ideal, Carswell said.
There are recreational opportunities as well, he said noting that “Wellington in Madison is located directly across from Hammonassett and soccer fields.”
“All that makes that area terrific place to live regardless of whether you’re raising a family, you’ve raised a family, or you’re a single person,” said McDermott.
Both groups are lining up investors now; Guilford Savings Bank is the mortgage lender.