Rebranding affordable housing in Greenwich
First Selectman Fred Camillo will proclaim Tuesday “Greenwich Communities Day.”
New name. New logo. New website. But the roots run deep. This affordable housing agency has been a vital part of the Greenwich community for nearly three-quarters of a century.
“Welcome to Greenwich Communities,” is the announcement on the new website — greenwichcommunity.org — that went live last weekend. The visitor is greeted to a continuously moving visual display of 18 new town house units at Armstrong Court. These are the latest addition to the town’s much-needed affordable housing stock.
Creating affordable housing has been Greenwich Communities’ mission since its inception in 1946 when the town established the Housing Authority of the Town of Greenwich in response to a serious shortage of housing for returning World War II veterans.
Since then, the Housing Authority has been the major, and most consistently reliable, developer of affordable housing in Greenwich. Tuesday morning, during a ceremony at Armstrong Court, its new name becomes official.
“Our new name represents our continuing progress toward allowing all people to live with dignity and respect, blending into the place they call home,” says Anthony Johnson, Greenwich Communities CEO and executive director, in his director’s message on the new website. “We have worked diligently ... to fulfill our core mission to bring forth new affordable housing initiatives and positively impact our community through thoughtful investment in our residents’ lives.”
The name reflects the agency’s priority, says Sam Romeo, the chairman of Greenwich Communities seven-member Board of Commissioners, in his chairman’s letter on the website: “residents who are engaged in their neighborhoods create vibrant communities.”
Romeo defines his leadership in terms of an unwavering dedication to improving the quality of life and opportunities for the residents of Greenwich Communities, as well as contributing to the future of the town.
Greenwich Communities’ contributions to the quality and diversity of life in Greenwich are significant. The agency offers a variety of affordable housing options to about 2,600 Greenwich residents. These include options for low- and moderateincome families, seniors, and disabled persons in 13 different residential complexes, as well as in the Parsonage Cottage senior congregate living facility, and through 348 federal Section 8 vouchers that help residents afford rentals in the private market, including five vouchers specifically for veterans.
These diverse housing options have been developed through a variety of financing mechanisms ranging from federal subsidy, to financing through the state and the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority (CHFA), to low income housing tax credits, to conventional mortgages.
The residential complexes consist of apartment buildings, town houses, and scattered site housing. They house seniors, low-income families, including those with very low incomes, and moderate-income families who are unable to afford Greenwich market-rate rents. They also include affordable home ownership opportunities and mixed income development with market-rate rentals.
The affordable senior housing options, ranging from independent to congregate living, enable longtime Greenwich residents to remain in the town where they’ve lived and worked for most of their lives.
Greenwich Communities maintains collaborative partnerships that allow its residents to benefit from the town’s many resources. Among these partners are the Greenwich Department of Human Services, the Commission on Aging, Family Centers, Community Centers, Inc. (CCI), Greenwich United Way, Greenwich YWCA, and the Boys and Girls Club of Greenwich.
Over the past decade, in addition to the 18 new units at Armstrong
Court, 11 new townhouse units have been built at Adams Garden, and new scattered site affordable housing has been developed in Cos Cob.
The decade has also brought significant upgrades to all the properties, CEO Johnson said in an email, noting a number of upgrades to heating and hot water systems, as well as new kitchens, bathrooms, roofs, and windows at Wilbur Peck Court; new kitchens and roofs at Adams Garden; new kitchens at the Town Hall Annex; a variety of major upgrades at Armstrong Court, McKinney Terrace I and McKinney Terrace II; and a $3 million investment in updating Greenwich Close.
Much of this work has been done under the leadership of Romeo, who became board chair in 2011. Looking forward, Romeo hopes to continue the development of quality affordable housing that addresses the housing needs of both the Greenwich community and of those who call Greenwich Communities their home.