Housing Trust Seeks Families

SHARON — Construction work is progressing on the first affordable housing unit from the Sharon Housing Trust, a private organization that seeks to provide the town with a stock of permanently affordable housing.

The site is on the Millerton Road at the junction with Lovers Lane. The house, a three-bedroom, two-and-a-half bath, 1,844-square-foot colonial, will face west.

Segalla Construction is doing the work, with oversight by contractor Rick McCue and trust officers. McCue is donating his time.

The home will sell for $175,000. Melinda Sweet, president of the trust, said she has received three applications thus far. She explained the selection process in an e-mail to The Journal:

"The threshold criteria are that the applicant lives in or works in Sharon and has held a job for at least two years, and the household income does not exceed 80 percent (or more) of the area median income ($81,000 for 2006) depending on household size. In other words, the larger the household the higher the applicable income level.

"The decision will be made by the board after the applicant is cleared for a mortgage through whatever bank the applicant chooses with the most affordable down payment and closing costs plus the best interest rate. The Sharon Housing Trust will make every effort to help defray down payment and closing costs through available programs."

Other factors that might come into play include whether the applicant works in a vital service to, or volunteers for, the town; the size of the household to be accommodated; and other relevant factors.

The trust plans to build one or two houses a year, depending on availability of land and funding. A second, two-acre parcel on Route 4 was donated by the town in June.

Sweet said there are no plans for that property as yet.

Northwest Corner towns are struggling to meet affordable housing guidelines handed down from the state Legislature. Parcel programs are becoming increasingly popular, especially as an alternative to concentrated housing in the form of townhouse or condominium complexes.

In these programs, applicants buy the homes but a trust owns the land. The homes, if sold, must go to families who meet the criteria.

The catches: While towns discuss and debate, construction costs rise steadily. And donations of land are not always easy to come by.

Affordable housing efforts in Salisbury and Cornwall have been successful, while the Kent Affordable Housing group has been frustrated, with just one home built since the late 1990s.

At a meeting on the topic of affordable housing with the Board of Selectmen and members of the various organizations last year, Sweet indicated that the pace of construction and land acquisition might not be as quick as she originally anticipated.

But nothing succeeds like success. "We expect many more applications as the house becomes a reality and the public becomes more aware of the unique opportunity for low-cost home ownership it represents," Sweet said.

Applications for home purchase through the trust can be downloaded from the trust’s Web site at sharonhousingtrust.org or can be obtained from Ella Clark’s office at Town Hall.

Interested persons can call Sharon Tingley at 860-364-5321 or Sue Cummings at 860-435-0789. Information on the application will be confidential.