Housing Trust Fund awards $2 million
With the assistance of $2 million in Sussex County Housing Trust Fund grants, four developers plan to build 156 units of affordable housing in areas throughout the county, including a project in Lewes. Each of the four organizations received $500,000.
Commonwealth Development Corporation plans to build Chapel Branch Apartments containing 42 multifamily units in Lewes, with 35 units available to residents earning less than 65% of the area median income and seven units for those making less than 80% of the AMI.
NeighborGood Partners has plans to build 36 apartments in Laurel, with all units available to residents earning less than 50% of the AMI. The units will be targeted to workers in the agriculture and poultry industries.
Sussex County Habitat for Humanity will use the funding for its homeownership program to construct 10 single-family homes available to residents earning less than 60% of the AMI. Plans include one home in Milford, two in Georgetown, two in Seaford and five in Laurel.
Leon N. Weiner & Associates has plans to preserve and revitalize the existing 75 units in Georgetown Apartments, with 25 apartments for residents earning less than 65% of the AMI and 50 apartments to those earning less than 50% of AMI.
Brandy Nauman, director of the county's community development and housing department, said the units will be available to all qualified county residents.
AMI varies on the number of persons in a household. For example, the AMI is $60,100 for a family of four and $48,100 for a two-member family.
“Programs such as this can help satisfy the growing demand for affordable housing,” Nauman said. “We believe these funds will go a long way in helping to put people in homes in our community.”
Established in 2022 to boost the county's affordable housing stock, the Housing Trust Fund was seeded with $6.8 million in funding, much of that from American Rescue Plan Act funds, to aid individual homebuyers, as well as assist developers and groups working to create more affordable housing options. This is the program’s second round; the county awarded $2.5 million in grants in the initial round last summer.
