OFFICIALS TO EXAMINE AFFORDABLE HOUSING

Meeting scheduled for Dec. 13

In Chester County, affordable housing is elusive for all but those with annual household incomes of six digits.

There were 1,675 homes built in Chester County last year, the most in nearly a decade. The median price paid for a house in Chester County was just over $337,000, a 6.5 percent increase from 2016.

But only those with means need apply for mortgages. Except for highly paid individuals, the typical Chester County home is simply out of reach. Affordable housing – especially for minimum wage workers and those with only a high school degree – is a serious problem in a county that ranks as one of the wealthiest in the nation.

“The county is a desirable place to live – a real destination for education, work opportunities and quality of life,” said Crosby Wood of Coatesville, a real estate entrepreneur experienced in finance, real estate development and event management. “We’re a vibrant part of a major metro area; we have natural and cultural attractions and robust agriculture. Yet for those relocating to Chester County, for young people starting their careers and seniors downsizing, the affordability question is daunting.”

Wood said that in next 25 years the county is expected to need 55,000 more housing units.

Local officials will examine the issue in December at a planning meeting.

“Solutions to the affordably priced housing issue will enhance Chester County’s future,” Crosby said.

“Roadway congestion can be reduced as commuting times will be lessened; communities can be more diverse; and employers can be able to attract the best workers more readily.”

Of the new homes built last year, 39 percent were apartments, 31 percent were attached homes, and 30 percent were single-family detached

homes. There is a continuing trend in which multi-family and single-family attached units comprise most of the new units built in Chester County versus the traditional single-family detached homes.

Habitat for Humanity, a non-profit that helps low-income individuals who cannot afford a mortgage by conventional means, has made huge strides recently.

Chip Huston, director of Habitat for Humanity of Chester County, said his organization

has built or rehabilitated 151 homes in Chester County, including 117 in Coatesville, 17 in West Chester, 16 in Phoenixville, and one in Downingtown. Current projects include the completion of Coatesville’s Cambria Terrace development and a 40-home development on a 6.8-acre lot in West Grove.

And last month, three Chester County organizations were awarded $766,000 in total state funding to combat homelessness

and improve and expand affordable housing options for those in need.

“These funds will go a long way in supporting important programs that provide affordable and accessible housing options here in Chester County to some of our residents who need them the most,” Dinniman said.

The funding went to Chester County Department of Community Development for the Decades to Doorways Program, which helps individuals exit the shelter system

and enter into a permanent housing solution.

Also last month, state Sen Tom McGarrigle, R-26, chairman of the Pennsylvania Senate’s Urban Affairs and Housing Committee, advanced a key affordable housing bill. Senate Bill 1185 will increase private investment in affordable housing by creating a state housing tax credit. This new tax credit, modeled after the highly successful federal Low Income Housing Tax Credit, will incentivize private

investment in new and existing affordable housing.

A two-hour Citizen Planners’ Breakfast is being facilitated by Chester County 2020 on Thursday, Dec. 13 at the Desmond Hotel, 1 Liberty Boulevard, Malvern, beginning at 7 a.m. Sponsors include the Chester County Planning Commission, county businesses and municipalities. The public is invited to attend and discuss finding a solution to the affordably priced housing issue in Chester County.

FRAN MAYE - DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA This development off Route 82 near the Kennett High School is just one of many under construction in Chester County.

FRAN MAYE - DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA There were 1,675 homes built in Chester County last year, the most in nearly a decade. The median price paid for a house in Chester County was just over $337,000, a 6.5percent increase from 2016.