In its 38 years, Habitat for Humanity of Coastal Fairfield County has rehabbed and built hundreds of homes, but none in the town of Fairfield.
But, earlier this month, the organization broke ground on its first Fairfield project — two duplexes to house four families.
The foundations were dug and awaiting the pour of concrete as local officials gathered on Greenfield Street to discuss the development.
The four homes are set for completion by next summer, Coastal Fairfield Habitat CEO Carolyn Vermont said. The organization has a waitlist of about 50 families looking for a Habitat home.
“Once a family is selected off the list, they have to go through a process, it takes about a year,” Vermont said. “They have to put in your sweat equity hours to help build the house. They have to go through workshops, financial literacy, budgeting, how to be a homeowner versus having a landlord neighborhood safety things along that line.”
The work toward home ownership, including construction and financial courses will begin over the next few months, Vermont said.
Each home will cost about $200,000 to construct, amounting to a total of $800,000, Vermont said.
“We're fundraising now to cover the cost of building the homes, because we do sell the homes way below market value to families. Typically a home last year in Fairfield cost about $800,000, and so we will sell it to a family somewhere between $180,000 and $200,000,” Vermont said.
With 281 homes built or refurbished over nearly four decades, Habitat for Humanity of Coastal Fairfield County said they’d been waiting for the opportunity to build in the town of Fairfield.
“'What took so long?' I think it's just timing,” Vermont said. “The timing is just right. I would love for it to have happened in the past, but we are certainly thankful that is happening now.”
The homes will sit within walking distance of the town’s Aldi grocery store and represent one step toward Fairfield meeting the state required 10% affordable housing stock for each municipality.
With 21,648 dwelling units in Fairfield, 625 units, or 2.9%, meet the state’s affordable housing criteria.
The new Habitat homes will be more affordable than many other similarly designated affordable developments in the area, Fairfield First Selectwoman Brenda Kupchick said.
“Instead of one single family market rate house being put here, or duplex, we're actually going to have four, truly — let's say now — truly affordable houses and not some of the stuff that's 80%, the medium area of income,” Kupchick said.
The land on which the homes will sit was purchased by the town from a private citizen using money from the Fairfield Affordable Housing Trust Fund, which was formed in 2018.
