$3.43M for Mary Shepherd Home

Agency aiming to prevent homelessness, support those in need with funds from state

MIDDLETOWN >> A local agency that helps the homeless with affordable housing is slated to receive a $3.43 million loan as part of the latest round of funding under the state’s Competitive Housing Assistance for Multifamily Properties program.

Nearly $23 million is being awarded to support the development of affordable housing in six communities across Connecticut, according to a press release from Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and Connecticut Department of Housing

The initiative’s goal is to help create, rehabilitate or preserve more than 200 units of affordable housing and expand access to mixed income and supportive housing units which aligns with the state’s work to prevent and end homelessness, the release continues.

The DOH will provide Columbus House’s Mary Shepherd Home a loan of up to $3,427,034 to assist in the redevelopment of the home on the campus of Connecticut Valley Hospital. The project will redevelop a vacant historic property into 32 units of supportive housing.

The development team, which also includes St. Vincent De Paul as the service provider, was selected through a competitive process by the city to redevelop and reuse this surplus state property, according to the DOH. Serving a range of incomes, the project will help to prevent homelessness and provide affordable housing to working individuals. Other sources of funds include federal low income housing tax credits and federal and state historic tax credits. Construction financing will be provided by the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority and the tax credit awards are pending board approval.

“We have done more in affordable housing over the past several years than Connecticut has in decades – and this is yet another step in that direction,” Malloy said in a prepared statement.

“Connecticut has invested a billion dollars to expand housing options – funding that has spurred economic development, attracted business, and helped our communities become affordable to a young workforce,” Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman said in the statement.

The CHAMP program, administered by the DOH, provides developers and owners of multifamily affordable housing the necessary gap financing to create more affordable units in their developments, according to the release.

COURTESY PHOTO Through housing services, Columbus House staff work with clients to get into housing and access the services they need to stay housed indefinitely, according to the agency.