A completed affordable housing project in Stonington shows the demand for affordable housing statewide. All of the apartments at the 85-unit Spruce Meadows complex in Stonington are occupied, and 68 of those units are designated affordable.
Only 6% of Stonington鈥檚 housing stock is designated affordable, below the state mandated minimum of 10%, according to .
Spruce Meadows鈥� 85 apartments are spread among two buildings and were constructed in two phases by nonprofit affordable housing developers .
With the majority of the apartments designated affordable and fully occupied, housing advocates and state leaders consider Spruce Meadows' occupancy success an example of the demand for more housing stock.
鈥淚n order to attract jobs to a community, you have to have places for those people that work there to live,鈥� NeighborWorks CEO Tom Cruess said. 鈥淚t's not just an issue with Stonington. We're seeing it throughout 海角换妻. We primarily work from really the shoreline, all the way from Bridgeport, up to here. And we see that across the board, that there's just not the opportunities for affordable housing for those people that need it.鈥�
The complex is mixed-income, with several market-rate apartments. The 80% of units designated affordable cost .
The first phase of construction was completed in 2017. The second phase began in 2018, but , due to supply chain and funding complications.
鈥淭he total was about approximately $30 million between the two phases,鈥� Cruess said. 鈥淭he second phase was quite a bit more. We did have some cost overruns. The construction happened during the pandemic, so we experienced all the supply chain issues and price escalation.鈥�
The project ran between 10% and 15% over budget, and was largely funded through state and federal affordable housing grants, Cruess said.
Despite the delays, Spruce Meadows remains fully occupied.
With nearby Electric Boat hiring thousands of new employees in the coming years, the region recently began an apartment construction spree.
Companies struggle to invest in the state if employees have nowhere to live, U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, who represents the New London area, said.
鈥淭he urgency of this issue right now in the region is off the charts, because of the hiring spree that's been going on in Groton,鈥� Courtney said. 鈥淪ome of these new employees, whether they're in the metal trades, or engineering or design, are obviously looking for a place to live, if they accept a job offer.鈥�
Electric Boat has hired 3,000 new employees so far this year. New London鈥檚 responded to the increase in residency and employment with 300 new apartments units under construction or recently completed.
