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01/07/2020 01:13 PMThe Guilford Free Library will host a public information session on Monday, Jan. 13 on a new affordable housing complex, as the town nears signing a final contract with New Haven-based nonprofit NeighborWorks New Horizons to construct the approximately 15- to 20-unit development.
The town plans to sell or lease a parcel of land near the train station—a lot known as the Woodruff Property—to NeighborWorks for free. NeighborWorks will then use various state and federal grants to help fund the construction. Rent at the units would be subsidized in a range that would make it affordable for working families, according to town officials.
The public information session is co-presented by the Housing for Economic Development Plan Committee (HEDPC), Guilford Free Library, The Guilford Foundation, and the Guilford Interfaith Housing Committee.
HEDPC Chair Sandy Ruoff said she sees this as a chance for residents to hear directly from NeighborWorks representatives as well as town officials about the development, and bring any concerns they might have.
“Mainly, this one is to meet the developer,” Ruoff said. NeighborWorks “is managing affordable housing in Guilford already and have been involved with the town for 30 years. But a lot of people don’t know that.”
Ruoff said that over the last four years, Guilford has received two grants from the state to put together studies to identify potential locations of affordable housing units. The Woodruff Property was chosen partially due to it already being town-owned property as well as its location.
Guilford named NeighborWorks as its “preferred developer” of the property last August.
The town already has a preliminary design, though the project must still be approved by the Board of Selectmen and Planning & Zoning Commission. It will also be vetted by the state Department of Energy & Environmental Protection, according to Ruoff.
Ruoff said the town has also recruited Guilford architect Karin Patriquin, who is associated with the project, to attend the Jan. 13 information session and help residents better understand technical or aesthetic aspects of the development.
“We’re trying to make [the building] fit into the way that houses and condominiums look in Guilford—it’s not going to be a cinderblock four-story building,” Ruoff said.
Though Ruoff said she and other town officials have been discussing the project in public forums for some time, she said it is important that the town and community leaders reach out as much as possible to make sure there are no surprises for neighbors or residents. She also said that many people in Guilford don’t understand or have misconceptions about how affordable housing works.
“This is a way to kind of introduce the concept…[affordable housing] is to keep people like plumbers or firemen or beginning teachers, or sometimes families that lose a parent…[so] that they can manage to stay in Guilford,” Ruoff said.
Ruoff said the timing of the public information session is helpful because the Board of Selectmen hopes to vote on the contract with NeighborWorks at the end of this month, or early in February. A vote was scheduled in November, but was postponed due to some procedural issues, according to First Selectmen Matt Hoey.
The public information session is on Monday, Jan. 13 at 7 p.m. at the Guilford Free Library, 67 Park Street.