Bostwick Street open houses showcase affordable housing renovations

LAKEVILLE — Two nonprofit housing organizations held open houses at adjacent affordable housing properties on Bostwick Street Saturday, Oct. 24.

At 37 Bostwick St., the Salisbury Housing Committee showed a newly renovated three-bedroom apartment with one and a half bathrooms. A family already living in Salisbury is scheduled to move in Nov. 1.

Next door, at 51 Bostwick St., the Salisbury Housing Trust opened a two-bedroom, one-bathroom home where renovations are nearing completion.

The organizations serve different housing needs. Both are private, volunteer-run nonprofits: The committee develops and manages affordable rental housing, while the trust builds or renovates homes for sale to qualifying buyers at below-market prices. The trust retains ownership of the underlying land to help keep its homes affordable.

The committee’s Bostwick Street property contains three apartments: one occupied by a longtime tenant, the newly renovated unit, and a third unit that remains in considerable disrepair.

Carl Culbreth, a committee board member who oversaw the renovation, said Saturday that the third unit had most recently housed a family of raccoons. He said the unit is in such poor shape that it makes more sense to demolish it and start from scratch.

The renovation of the apartment opening Nov. 1 went quickly, Culbreth said.

“I got involved in February, we started in March, and finished last week.”

At 51 Bostwick St., trustpresident John Harney said renovations are almost complete and the new owner will be a single mother with a child. An unfinished second floor will remain unfinished for now.

At the committee’s apartment, Jocelyn Ayer of the Litchfield County Center for Housing Opportunity said cooperation between affordable housing organizations and towns is key to getting units built.

“When you don’t have the town and developer working together it takes years. This apartment has been vacant for 13 years.”