The New York Times - October 2, 2005
Eleanor Charles

Two recent examples, utterly different from each other, present a glimpse of the efforts that are being made in this area. One is a model of first-time home ownership in Stamford, and the other has created studio apartments for the homeless in New Haven.

The Stamford development of four bright new three-story town homes for lower-income working people opened in May and were sold through a lottery to buyers whose incomes are 50 percent to 67 percent of Stamford's median income of $111,600. That's about $56,000 to $75,000 a year, respectively.

Two units at the lower end of the income range were sold for $230,000 and two at the higher level were $240,000. Each buyer made a 5 percent down payment.

The new owners, the winners drawn from 20 finalists out of 80 qualified applicants, include single mothers with families and couples with children; all were already Stamford residents.

They were reluctant to be interviewed. Ross Burkhardt, president and chief executive of New Neighborhoods Inc., the nonprofit developer, said: "Now that they are living in homes that rival market rate housing, they want to disassociate themselves from the stigma of subsidized housing. They don't mind picture taking, but they don't want to talk about it."

Situated near downtown at the corner of Hoyt and Franklin Streets, the units, called Franklin Place, are attached and have kitchens with dining areas, living rooms that open onto fenced backyards, three bedrooms, two and a half baths, washers and dryers, track or recessed lighting in every room, air-conditioning and a free parking space on the property. Four spaces for visitors are behind the complex.

The 1,500-square-foot town houses have cream-colored walls with white trim, and soft mocha-colored carpeting. An abundance of windows in various shapes and sizes fill the interior with light. Elena Kalman of Stamford was the architect.

The overall cost was $1.54 million, said John Kukulka, director of housing development for New Neighborhoods. "The land, valued at $390,000, was donated by the city specifically for affordable housing," he said, "and the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority gave $170,000." The remaining $980,000 was borrowed from People's Bank.

"We wanted to build many more units, "Mr. Burkhardt said, "but the office buildings in the surrounding area objected. These four units may be a drop in the bucket, but we call them the tip of the iceberg."

Since it was founded in 1967, New Neighborhoods has developed more than 350 units of rental and ownership housing in the city, and it is currently negotiating to acquire a property south of Broad Street on which to build 40 to 60 units. At the same time, it is completing a $13 million renovation of the building at 40 Stillwater Avenue, which holds its offices and 88 low-income apartments.

The state has a goal that at least 10 percent of the housing in every community should be "affordable," but Stamford exceeds that goal. In fact, the city requires every new multifamily development to offer 6 percent to 20 percent of its units at affordable rates.

"Stamford is a leader in the country with this," said Rick Redniss, head of Redniss & Mead, land use planners. "In many other communities, they take a Nimby view."

Earlier this year, the New Haven Homeless Count, conducted by the New Haven Continuum of Care for several agencies dealing with homelessness, determined that there are about 1,135 homeless people in the city on any given night.

Some 20 percent of them are deemed "chronically" homeless, which means they have been on the street for a year or longer and cannot get off. "The average is seven years" for those classified as chronic, said Sara Caldwell, executive director of Liberty Community Services, which opened Safe Haven for 33 chronically homeless people last February.

Its imposing 1901 brick building formerly housed the Graves Cigar Company at 210 State Street, downtown near City Hall, and was converted to its current use for $7 million.

"Many of the residents have AIDS or are H.I.V. positive, and have one or more disabilities, including mental illness," Ms. Caldwell said. "Those criteria, along with chronic homelessness, make them eligible for admission. They pay 30 percent of their income to us, but no one is denied housing based on income. We work with residents to access food stamps, seek employment and whatever benefits they are eligible for, so they have some income."

Each resident has his or her own studio apartment with a bathroom and kitchenette. (There are no children.) On each floor of the four-story building, the apartments are mixed with support rooms for therapy, group meetings, vocational training, mental health counseling and art studios.

"The residents stay for as long as it takes to get their lives back together - a few months or years," Ms. Caldwell said. "Our hope is that people will move on when they are ready, and a few of them now work for us, but live independently elsewhere."

Interior and facade renovation was handled by Jack Esterson, principal of Studio A-WASA, a division of the century-old New York City architectural-engineering firm of Wank Adams Slavin Associates.

"The studios are just over 300 square feet," he said, "very homey, with restored oak floors, living and sleeping areas, dining tables, chairs, and a small couch; coffee table, dresser, bed, and TV stand." High ceilings, restored brick walls, lighting and color, he added, "preclude any institutional feeling."

Liberty was founded in 1987 as a supportive housing organization, financed by 14 entities, including banks, state and federal agencies, foundations, the Corporation for Supportive Housing and the Melville Charitable Trust, which, said Janice Elliott, southern New England director of the Corporation for Supportive Housing, "has taken the lead in putting dollars into supportive and affordable housing."

051002
NYT051002