Barkhamsted Housing Trust

 01  What is the Barkhamsted Housing Trust?

 

The Barkhamsted Housing Trust (BHT) is a 501 (c)(3) organization, separate from the town government, comprised of interested town residents whose objective is to develop affordable housing in our community. 

 

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 02  What is affordable housing?

 

​Affordable housing is meant to provide opportunities for a wide range of individuals and families including those just starting in the workforce as well as seniors interested in downsizing.  It is NOT low-income housing, often know as Section 8 low-income housing. Currently only 2% of town housing is affordable housing. The State of CT has set a goal for towns to have 10% of their housing be affordable housing.

 

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 03  Who qualifies for affordable housing?

 

​Individuals and families who earn less than 80% of the median income in Barkhamsted are eligible for affordable housing. This ranges from about $64,000 for an individual up to about $92,000 for a family of four. Rent will be proportional to income, which is no more than 30% of the renters’ income should be used for housing costs including utilities and insurance. The proposed units have a range of rents to also allow residents with incomes lower than these maximum affordable housing income limits.

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 04  Where will these apartments be located?

 

​The BHT used a bridge loan made possible with financing from the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) to purchase 99 acres of land at 104 Old New Hartford Road behind Mallory Brook Plaza. This bridge loan was paid off when the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) grant was awarded for this purchase.

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 05  How many apartments would there be?

 

Twenty apartment units will be built on approximately 5-10 acres of the purchased land. These apartments would consist of 1-, 2-, and 3-bedroom apartments, with 10% of the units being fully accessible (for people with handicapping conditions). 

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 06  How will applications for this housing be handled?

 

Applications will be received and reviewed by a property manager hired by the BHT. If there are more applications than apartments, a lottery system would likely be employed. Notices for accepting applications will occur about 6 months before the housing construction is expected to be completed.

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 07  What will it look like?

 

​The units will have a rambling farmhouse look. Every unit will have a 1 car garage and space to park a car in the driveway. Additional parking will be available to visitors and service contractors.

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 08  How is all this being financed?

 

​The BHT hired a housing consultant to provide support in applying for grants through Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) and other funds through the Connecticut Department of Housing as well as assisting the BHT with a variety of pre-development issues. The CDBG was awarded to the town and passed through to the BHT to cover the cost of the bridge loan and pre-development plans. The BHT will be looking for grants as well as conducting fundraising activities to support construction estimated to be $5-$6 million at this time. Water and sewer will be connected to Winsted with monthly costs reflected in the rent. It is important to note that at NO time will the town be financially responsible for development.

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 09  What role has the town had?

 

​A small number of town employees have been a part of the BHT in an advisory capacity. They have supported the BHT in connecting to resources within the region and advised the BHT as to the necessary steps to see this project to fruition (planning and zoning approval, inlands wetlands approval and various necessary pre-development activities such as an archeological survey).