Sussex expands affordable housing

Effort gives developers incentives to target middle-income buyers
By DAN SHORTRIDGE, The News Journal

Posted Monday, January 28, 2008

Brandy Bennett, Sussex County's housing coordinator, said local developers are interested.
Sussex County is expanding its pilot program to boost the county's stock of moderately priced homes, aimed at speeding up the process and getting workers into new homes.

Two special developments are in the pipeline, with about 500 homes slated for construction within the next few years. But given the housing market slowdown, the county is now seeking developers interested in smaller projects involving 50 to 60 units each.

"Even though the market has slowed, there is still quite a bit of developer interest," said Brandy Bennett, the county's newly hired housing coordinator.

The county's median home price, $260,000, has spiked in recent years, with some observers concerned that middle-income residents -- teachers, police officers, nurses -- are being priced out of homeownership.

Sussex's program offers expedited zoning review and a density bonus to developers who price a certain number of homes at levels affordable to families making between $30,900 and $68,875, based on size. It has won kudos from state housing officials for its approach and potential impact.

But two years after it was launched, the effort has not yet produced a single home. Bennett said officials hope smaller developments will be able to be built more quickly than larger projects, with homes available in 18 months.

"They can construct units more quickly," she said.

Developers that have expressed interest so far are all local companies, primarily based in Sussex County, of all different sizes, Bennett said.

The two projects approved initially include the Villages of Elizabethtown, near Milton, and a development in the Belltown area, near Lewes.

A third project near Georgetown was in the works, but it didn't meet the program's stringent criteria.

Developers must designate 15 percent of their units as moderately priced, covering three tiers based on federal median income rates. The maximum price allowed is $225,000, Bennett said.

The sites must be located outside Level 4 development zones, mostly rural areas where the state has no plans to develop roads, schools or other infrastructure.

That creates a problem for some builders, "because that's a lot of the land that's available now," Bennett said.

Projects are judged based on a scoring system, and there is no maximum for how many projects can be approved. Developers are encouraged to attend a meeting next month to learn more. "We want to make sure they have a full understanding of what they're getting into," Bennett said.

Bill Lecates, director of the county's Community Development & Housing Department, said Bennett, 22, a Milton native who graduated from the University of Delaware last May, could be the "poster person" for the housing program.

She is currently living with her family and planning to buy her first home within the next few years. "I think there's a market for affordable housing," Bennett said. "There's not a market for $400,000 homes for people like myself and college graduates."

She said many of her friends are having problems finding jobs that pay well enough to move into homes of their own.

Purchasing a home in the program isn't as simple as lining up financing and making an offer. Buyers must meet the income guidelines, have lived in Sussex County for at least a year, be currently employed in the county, attend an orientation seminar and enter a lottery.

Once the first homes begin to hit the market, the county will launch a public education campaign to attract buyers. A Web site has been launched and brochures are being developed.

"We're trying to attract the young professional," Bennett said. "We expect a lot of people will be first-time homebuyers."