Affordable home project in Sharon could break ground this summer

“We want to be able to provide affordable housing in whichever way there’s demand for it.”
— Sharon Housing Trust President Richard Baumann

SHARON – Construction of a new affordable home at 160 Silver Lake Shores Rd. could begin this summer after the Sharon Housing Trust secured up to $420,000 in financing and grant money to move forward with the project.

The funding package, announced May 22, includes a mortgage commitment of up to $270,000 for construction financing from Capital for Change – a Connecticut Community Development Financial Institution – and an additional $150,000 grant sponsored by the state Department of Housing.

The home, which was designed by Cornwall architect Christine Gray last year, will be a single-family three-bedroom home in the Mudge Pond-adjacent neighborhood. It is expected to sell between $250,000 and $275,000.

“Sharon and the towns around us are in a desperate affordable housing crunch,” said Sharon Housing Trust President Richard Baumann. “We want to be able to provide affordable housing in whichever way there’s demand for it.”

Baumann said the project is ready to move forward once the financing agreement closes. The Trust has already hired Boulder Ridge Construction of Bethlehem and expects to begin construction this summer.

The Trust was gifted the property in late 2024 by an anonymous donor. The lot already has a well and septic system, helping reduce development costs.

Baumann said he hopes to keep the home’s price low enough that housing costs would not exceed 30% of income for a household earning 80% of the area median income, the state’s standard for affordable housing.

According to numbers released by the state on May 1, the area median income of the Northwest Hills Planning Region for a four-person household is $122,800, making 80% $98,240.

Fundraising began last year with a local foundation awarding the Trust with a $25,000 matching grant, of which $10,000 has been raised so far.

The Trust is also in the process of renovating the former community center at 99 North Main St. into four two-bedroom rental apartments. The project is adjacent to six existing affordable rental units owned by the Trust.

The organization received $2 million in state grant money last year for the project, which is currently underway, although repairs to all four buildings are on pause as the state’s Historic Preservation Office, commonly called SHPO, reviews plans on the century-old community center and adjacent structures.