Housing info session held ahead of Perry Street project completion

Housing info session held ahead of Perry Street project completion

Construction is nearing completion for two affordable homes on Perry Street.

Alec Linden

LAKEVILLE — Two new affordable houses on Perry Street are nearly ready.

Litchfield County Center for Housing Opportunity Director Jocelyn Ayer was joined by representatives of local affordable housing coalitions for an informational session on April 10 to offer an update on the project and several other near-complete projects across the county.

The Perry Street homes, modular units which were placed atop their foundations on April 2, are part of a regional effort from the LCCHO called the Litchfield County Affordable Homeownership Program.

A total of nine 3-bedroom homes — all modular and Cape-style — across five Northwest Corner towns will be the product of the project, built on land owned and managed by the Salisbury Housing Trust, Cornwall Housing Corporation, Foundation for Norfolk Living, and Washington Community Housing Trust.

The Perry Street houses are the first to be delivered — and “they look amazing,” Ayer said.

The project is expected to be ready for residents in May. The deadline for pre-application was April 15.

Two homes on Town Street in Cornwall are next in line, with a pre-application deadline of April 30 and a prospective move-in date this summer.

The LCCHO is also now accepting pre-application forms, which may be received by emailing Lindsay Larson at LindsayL@thehousingcollective.org, for the rest of the properties, although has yet to set deadlines.

Ayer said that the rest of the homes — two more in Salisbury, one more in Cornwall, one in Washington and one in Norfolk — will likely be finished in the fall and winter.

Applicants must be first-time homebuyers and must have an income at or below 100% of the county’s Area Median Income, which is approximately $80,000 for one-person and rises by about $11,400 per additional household member. Strong preference will be given to households of three or more.

The homes are valued between $255,000 and $290,000, but with a down payment assistance loan that will cut $25,000 from that total.

Ayer explained each housing non-profit that owns the properties will continue ownership over the actual land parcel, while the homeowner will own just the actual building and its footprint.

When Ayer opened the floor to questions, several audience members in the Zoom room asked about the unique ownership paradigm, which Ayer explained is a “shared-equity” model that is designed to keep costs down.

The cost of constructing and installing each unit is approximately $500,000 dollars, Ayer said, but the homeowner is only responsible for the taxes of the property directly beneath the house. Karen Sunnarborg, secretary of the Salisbury Housing Trust, maintained that taxes will be based on the purchase price, not construction costs.

Attendees also asked about property improvements and how such projects would fit into the shared equity model, to which Ayer replied that they are possible, but anything substantial, such as a perimeter fence, would have to be reviewed by the non-profit that owns the parcel.

The idea is to keep the property value low enough that the house remains affordable for future buyers — i.e. no pools, she said.

The final question came from Melissa Wagner, who asked whether a chicken coop may be approved to be built on the property. “With this economy, eggs are important,” she said, though Ayer said zoning regulations may have the final say, not to mention bears, foxes and bobcats, added Town Street resident Susan Francisco.

Latest News

Club baseball at Fuessenich Park

Travel league baseball came to Torrington Thursday, June 26, when the Berkshire Bears Select Team played the Connecticut Moose 18U squad. The Moose won 6-4 in a back-and-forth game. Two players on the Bears play varsity ball at Housatonic Valley Regional High School: shortstop Anthony Foley and first baseman Wes Allyn. Foley went 1-for-3 at bat with an RBI in the game at Fuessenich Park.

 

  Anthony Foley, rising senior at Housatonic Valley Regional High School, went 1-for-3 at bat for the Bears June 26.Photo by Riley Klein 

 
Siglio Press: Uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature

Uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature.

Richard Kraft

Siglio Press is a small, independent publishing house based in Egremont, Massachusetts, known for producing “uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature.” Founded and run by editor and publisher Lisa Pearson, Siglio has, since 2008, designed books that challenge conventions of both form and content.

A visit to Pearson’s airy studio suggests uncommon work, to be sure. Each of four very large tables were covered with what looked to be thousands of miniature squares of inkjet-printed, kaleidoscopically colored pieces of paper. Another table was covered with dozens of book/illustration-size, abstracted images of deer, made up of colored dots. For the enchanted and the mystified, Pearson kindly explained that these pieces were to be collaged together as artworks by the artist Richard Kraft (a frequent contributor to the Siglio Press and Pearson’s husband). The works would be accompanied by writings by two poets, Elizabeth Zuba and Monica Torre, in an as-yet-to-be-named book, inspired by a found copy of a worn French children’s book from the 1930s called “Robin de Bois” (Robin Hood).

Keep ReadingShow less
Cycling season: A roundup of our region’s rentals and where to ride them

Cyclists head south on the rail trail from Copake Falls.

Alec Linden

After a shaky start, summer has well and truly descended upon the Litchfield, Berkshire and Taconic hills, and there is no better way to get out and enjoy long-awaited good weather than on two wheels. Below, find a brief guide for those who feel the pull of the rail trail, but have yet to purchase their own ten-speed. Temporary rides are available in the tri-corner region, and their purveyors are eager to get residents of all ages, abilities and inclinations out into the open road (or bike path).

For those lucky enough to already possess their own bike, perhaps the routes described will inspire a new way to spend a Sunday afternoon. For more, visit lakevillejournal.com/tag/bike-route to check out two ride-guides from local cyclists that will appeal to enthusiasts of many levels looking for a varied trip through the region’s stunning summer scenery.

Keep ReadingShow less