Nine months after Hartford’s Vacant Lot Task Force was made public, the first properties to be rehabilitated were announced, and affordable homeownership opportunities could be ready within a year.
The Vacant Lot Task Force and CT Home Funds program, announced in April, is a collaboration between the city of Hartford and the state’s Department of Housing (DOH), with the goal of increasing homeownership for Black and Brown families.
“That dream of home ownership feels so far away for folks in my generation and generations coming up behind me,” Arulampalam said. “But also, in the city of Hartford, for Black and Brown families, it's been such an elusive dream for so many generations, and we really want to make an impact on homeownership.”
Arulampalam is pushing for the homes to be constructed in the coming months.
“We're hoping that many of these will be up before the end of the next year,” Arulampalam said. “By the fall of next year and that we can then go and try to expand this program to continue to make a bigger impact.”
The 20 vacant lots identified for the program are owned by Hartford and are spread throughout the city. The lots all have sewage and gas connections and were identified as areas where homeownership might flourish.
“Sticking a home between a number of multi-unit large-scale apartment buildings sometimes is more difficult, but if you are surrounded on both sides by one- to three-unit properties, it's sort of a more natural home ownership opportunity,” Arulampalam said.
The task force is funded with $2 million from the state and $2 million from the city. It will provide up to $150,000 for each affordable housing unit built on one of the vacant lots, Arulampalam said.
Developers will pay $1 to purchase and build on the lots, with a focus on using local developers and contractors, Arulampalam said.
Local developers interested in building homes on the blighted properties should apply online using the city’s intake form.
The affordable homes will be for sale to families earning at or below 120% of the Area Median Income (AMI). For Hartford, 120% AMI amounts to about $113,000 annually for a dual family income, according to DOH data.
“Many small developers tell us they cannot rehabilitate or retrofit a property and then sell at an affordable price without losing money. We want our locally based builders to have the opportunity to compete - especially when we need as much high quality affordable housing as possible,” DOH Commissioner Seila Mosquera-Bruno said.
