HDF Finances Affordable Housing in West Haven and Norwalk
STAMFORD, CT — The Housing Development Fund (HDF) recently closed two deals to expand the supply of affordable housing in West Haven and South Norwalk, CT. With the help of HDF’s Multi-family Lending Program, Glen Oaks Condominiums of West Haven and 143 ½ South Main Street of South Norwalk are guaranteed to provide affordable rental apartments to low- and moderate- income families for thirty years.
Glen Oaks Condominiums is a 29-unit garden mixed-income property located in a quiet residential neighborhood of West Haven, CT. Originally constructed in 1970 as rental apartments and later converted to condominiums for sale, the project had deteriorated to the point that the condos were almost uninhabitable, becoming one of the city’s biggest problem areas. With a comprehensive plan to rehabilitate the project, the West Haven Housing Authority (WHHA) acquired the property and began “gut” renovating the first four buildings to sell to low-income first-time homebuyers. Considering the current state of the housing market, WHHA decided to unwind the final building from the condominium association and operate the complex as a rental property, with all the apartments meticulously rehabilitated with finishes originally designed as “for sale” condos. Considered one of the nicest properties within the primary market area, Glen Oaks features electronic-coded entry doors, new laundry facilities, individually metered electric heat and hot water, and designated parking spaces. With the help of long-term financing from HDF, Glen Oaks Condominiums will provide high-quality affordable rentals to up to 29 families in need. Currently, 15 of the 29 units are occupied by Section 8 tenants, including 7 which are targeted for veterans. By renovating a formerly vacant and boarded-up foreclosed property, the city of West Haven will help stabilize and preserve existing neighborhoods.
143 ½ South Main Street is home to 12 families, located a half-mile south of the “SoNo” commercial district of South Norwalk, CT. HDF helped finance the acquisition of 143 ½ South Main Street through a private partnership, ensuring that at least 30% of the apartments would continue to be rented affordably to families at or below the Area Median Income for thirty more years. The partners will be investing in significant upgrades to the property, improving the operating capacity and efficiency of the building with new gas-fired boilers, a new roof, and a new parking lot/driveway. Its future assured, 143 ½ South Main Street will continue to provide quality affordable housing in one of the country’s most expensive housing markets.
About the Housing Development Fund– HDF is a certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) and HUD-Approved Counseling and Lending Agency established 1989 as a nonprofit organization to finance the development of affordable housing. Since its inception, HDF has been creating affordable housing solutions for low- to moderate-income households in the high cost markets of southwestern Connecticut. In that time, it has grown to a loan fund with $44.7 million in net assets that encompasses programs for pre-development lending, acquisition, rehabilitation, and new construction, and permanent financing. Other projects have included affordable family housing, senior housing, special needs housing and supportive housing. In addition to its financing resources and functions, HDF provides homebuyers’ education and one-on-one counseling to help families qualify for special mortgage financing programs. HDF also counsels families facing foreclosure through special mortgage intervention programs in Bridgeport and Danbury. Learn more about our counseling program and loan products here: first-time-homebuyers