Interview with the Salisbury Housing Trust

John Harney Jr., President, and Jennifer Kronholm Clark, Vice President, of the Salisbury Housing Trust.

By Hannah Pouler

The Salisbury Housing Trust (SHT) is a nonprofit focused on creating affordable home ownership properties for Salisbury Township workers, residents, and volunteers. SHT is governed by a Board of Trustees.

I spoke with John Harney, SHT President, and Jennifer Kronholm Clark, SHT Vice President (and SAHC Chair), about the SHT’s work.  

 

How did you get involved with the Salisbury Housing Trust?

Jennifer Kronholm Clark: I moved to Salisbury in 2005, and was renting at the time. I later met my husband and we had two kids, but we were still renting. We wanted to buy a home, but paying for rent, bills, and childcare made it difficult to find anything we could afford. But we had roots in Salisbury and wanted to stay. I met Leo Gafney, who was then President of SHT, and worked closely with the Trust for about a year until we found a home. Afterwards, Leo called me and asked me to join the SHT board.

John Harney: I was inspired by the work I did in Denver volunteering for a homeless shelter. Helping people got in my blood. I later moved to Salisbury with my boys, where I realized that real estate is nice, but it doesn’t address affordable housing. I was pulled into the trust by Leo as well. The SHT has a marvelous group of talented people on the board, and it’s an honor to work with them.

 
Can you describe the process of getting an SHT home ready for move-in, from start to finish?

Jenn: There are two different scenarios. First, the SHT builds a house from the ground up. This takes a while because we need to receive a land donation, acquire funding for construction, get approval from Planning & Zoning, draft building plans, and find contractors.

John: The second scenario is finding something on the market. If a house is in our price range, we need to act quickly before it’s bought by house flippers. Once a house is flipped, it will never be affordable again. We usually need to renovate these properties. Luckily, we’ve gotten a lot of support from local contractors, who are willing to make time in their busy schedules because they support our cause. They are very generous with the pricing of materials and work. Herrington’s and Lindell’s also donate materials. It gives us great confidence to know these local businesses are behind us.

Jenn: Once we’ve gotten the property to the point where it’s ready to be sold, our applicant families must qualify for a mortgage. This process can be harrowing, but there are groups that help with down payments and closing costs, like the Salisbury Family Services. It takes a lot of people to stitch together a financial package, but after this is in order, we can move a family in.

  
Why is affordable housing important to you?

John: For me, it’s about getting back to what Salisbury was when we grew up. In the 60s and 70s, Salisbury was a middle-class community. There were shops, tons of kids… I had an unbelievable childhood! We’ve seen that morph into a luxury community, a sort of mono-culture. Affordable housing is an opportunity to rebalance the scales.

Jenn: I’d echo a lot of what John said. Raising my family in a strong community is important to me, and you need diversity of people to have a strong community. We need diversity in income levels, occupations, interests, races, backgrounds… with the current market, diversity won’t happen by accident. We must be intentional.   

How did COVID impact the need for affordable housing?

John: COVID ignited the market and put most homes out of reach for middle-class, local buyers. But a lot of people who came up during COVID have grown attached to the community and have stayed. They will become part of the solutions.

Are there any SHT projects in the pipeline?

Jenn: There’s three main projects. At Perry Street, which is land that the town voted to give to SHT, we have preliminary site plans drafted for two homes. We’re applying for government funding for the first time, since building costs post-COVID cannot be met by individual donations. Then there’s the Grove Street School property across the road from the White Hart, where we plan to put a few houses. The next step is to get approval by town vote to transfer the Grove Street land from the Town to SHT. Finally, there’s the Pope property, where we hope to build a significant number of houses.

If community members want to get involved with the affordable housing movement, what can they do?

Jenn: Donate money and land! We accept donations online. It’s helpful to have money in the bank, so we can move quickly when a property hits the market. We also use these funds to help subsidize mortgage costs for our applicants. And when someone donates land to the SHT, it’s forever deemed affordable, so it’s hugely helpful.

John: And the most important thing anyone can do is vote. Pay attention to when Town meeting votes arise, and make your voice heard at Planning & Zoning meetings. Financial donations move projects forward, but to get them off the ground we need votes. We need the support of the community.

What is your favorite thing about Salisbury?

Jenn: The people! And, the Grove.

John: For me, it’s the connectedness of everyone and everything that’s been here before. I’ve known families that go back generations, and I have memories going back 60 years. This is what I don’t want to lose.

Interview with Salisbury Housing Committee

Salisbury Housing Committee President Peter Halle, left, and Anne Kremer, past president of SHC, outside of Sarum Village.

By Hannah Pouler

The Salisbury Housing Committee (SHC) builds and manages affordable rental housing in Salisbury. It is an entirely volunteer-run nonprofit, with a 15-person Board of Directors. I spoke with Peter Halle, the current SHC President, and Anne Kremer, past SHC President, about the SHC’s work and the importance of affordable rental properties in April 2023. 

Can you tell me a bit about your involvement with the Salisbury Housing Committee?

Peter Halle: I’m currently President of the SHC. I’ve lived in Salisbury for almost 40 years and have been with SHC for 30 years. Being retired gives me a chance to do these civic-minded activities.

Anne Kremer: I moved here in 2006 and, as a social worker, wanted to get involved with the community. I joined SHC and was soon asked to be the President. I served as President for 10 years, and was co-President with Peter for several years afterwards.

 
Why is affordable rental housing important?
 
Anne: Because people start their life in rentals. A lot of young people work in this town but have to live elsewhere due to high rents. The hope is that people who live in our rental properties can save to buy a house in the future. Affordable rental properties are not charity: it’s what the town needs.

Peter: Taking a longer view, we want to keep these towns alive and vibrant. If there’s a way for all types of people – especially families – to live in the town, you end up with a better community. For example, we all know school enrollment is down, because you need to be wealthy to live in Salisbury with children. Affordable housing makes life better for everyone.

 
What is the SHC working on now? Can you describe any projects that you’re particularly excited about?

Peter: There are four projects going on concurrently. Holley Place, Sarum III (ten new units at Sarum Village), East Rail Road Street, and renovations at the Lakeview property. I’m excited about Holley Place, because it’s integrated with the village of Lakeville. It will make downtown Lakeville a better place.

Anne: Exactly the same for me. We changed the Holley Place architecture to make everybody happy, and it came out really attractive. It’s right in the community, so it thrills me that kids will get to live there.

Why does it take so long to develop affordable rental properties?
 
Peter: There are three stages before you can start building a project. First, you need to secure the land and draft a plan. Second, you need to get approvals from P&Z, which can take more than a year. But people often forget about step three – getting funding from the Connecticut Department of Housing. This often delays us the longest. Without the money, there is no housing!

The SHC is entirely volunteer run: how do volunteers stay motivated?
 
Peter: It’s by getting stuff done. When Anne joined, the SHC primarily maintained existing properties, but Anne got us into gear. We are currently working on multiple new units and are more involved with community than ever.

Anne: We love this town, and want to give back, so we are happy to do it. 

If community members want to get involved with the affordable housing movement, what can they do?

Peter: I’d steer them to the Salisbury Affordable Housing Commission to learn about community events and forums that they can participate in. When enough people share a positive view on something, it convinces others to have an open mind and participate in the process, rather than condemning it.

Anne: Yes! Be positive about affordable housing, and let other people know that you’re positive.

What is your favorite thing about Salisbury?

Peter: Swimming on Mount Riga.

Anne: The people. I’ve made so many supportive friends that I am forever grateful for.  

Sharon Hospital

In our beautiful rural community, we are lucky to have Sharon Hospital nearby. We all depend upon their resources and caring staff. The cost of local housing however, creates serious challenges for recruitment and retention of many of the workers the hospital needs for their daily operations.

According to Sarah Colomello, spokeswoman for Sharon Hospital, “We sometimes hear that geographically, Sharon is difficult to commute to and, based on the cost of living in the area, people are less likely to relocate here.

“In the Surgical Services Department, there have been several potential job candidates who were willing to relocate but were unable to find affordable housing nearby.

“In our Emergency Department, there have been interested candidates but very few of them live in this area due to the high cost. When they see how far they need to travel to come here to work they usually do not accept the job offer.

“In April and May, Support Services has had three candidates for positions state that the commute to Sharon is longer than they are willing to drive.

“Within the Quality Department, staff commute between 35 and 60 minutes to work. Sharon and surrounding areas are not an option for relocation due to the high cost of living.”

We can all help Sharon Hospital thrive and attract the employees they need by supporting local, affordable housing options.

This article was published in The Lakeville Journal on 9/26/19.

Luis Vargas

Luis Vargas works as a cook at LaBonne’s Market. Bob LaBonne could not praise him highly enough saying “He’s a great guy, hard working, steady and reliable. He’s like a father to some of the other employees, hence the nickname “Big Papi.’”

Luis was helped with temporary housing by a friend in the community while he waited for an apartment to become available at Sarum Village, the affordable housing complex on Cobble Road near Noble Horizons. After filling out the application, which included financial information and letters of reference, it took a year before a vacancy opened up.

Luis Vargas

When asked about his new home, his face lit up with a broad smile. He says he’s “very happy and loves his new apartment. Everything is new and really nice.” While he only moved in recently, he’s happy that his neighbors are friendly and there are children nearby. He’s also able to walk to work, which is critical since he doesn’t own a car. Finding a stable, safe, affordable home has relieved a tremendous amount of stress and allows him to concentrate on his job, which he loves.

This article was published in The Lakeville Journal on 9/12/19.

Stephanie Magyar

Stephanie Magyar

Principal, Salisbury Central School

Stephanie Magyar comes from a large, extended family with deep roots in Salisbury. Of her generation, many have moved out of town or live with relatives because they have not been able to find housing they can afford. They would love to stay here and have their children attend Salisbury Central School. Instead, they are establishing their lives in other towns. There is virtually no rental housing in Salisbury available to young people just beginning their post-education lives. There is virtually no housing for purchase that’s affordable for young couples with two professional salaries.

During graduate school, there were no rental apartments Stephanie could afford and so she lived at home with her family until she met her husband. The only home in town she and her husband could afford was foreclosed and needed a great deal of work. Since they wanted to stay in Salisbury, they continued to search unsuccessfully for a nicer home in their price range. Due to market conditions, they have ended up buying their current home in Goshen.

Like many young people who work in town and want to live here, Stephanie has a long commute. With support for more housing options for rent and purchase, we can help families like Stephanie’s stay in the town they love.

This article was published in The Lakeville Journal on 8/22/19.

The White Hart Inn

Dan Winkley

Everyone in Salisbury is delighted that managers Dan Winkley and John Ciliberto have been able to restore the White Hart Inn to its traditional role as a lively hub in the center of town.

Dan says that “running a successful inn and restaurant is all about building relationships with our customers by offering high-quality service in a professional, welcoming environment. A steady, reliable workforce is crucial to fulfilling this mission. One of the most serious challenges we face is finding people to fill skilled, full-time positions. People with the right experience often live as far away as Albany, New York City, Danbury or even Miami. In considering a job offer they find they would need to commute long distances because they are unable to find local housing they can afford. This makes recruitment of these employees very difficult. To attract and retain them we need to offer better health benefits and paid vacations than would be necessary in areas with more housing options. This adds to our operating costs”.

Their young, seasonal employees usually live at home with their families. The rest live in towns as far away as Torrington and New Milford.

He says, “If people don’t already live here the commute is daunting. The very limited rental market is mostly for whole homes and too expensive. Some homes are only available seasonally or are turned into Air B’n’Bs, which reduces the number of homes available for local workers. Rentals are needed for staff who cannot afford a home purchase as well as for more senior people coming for a new job so they have the time to see how it goes before making a commitment to purchase.”

After marrying recently, Dan and his wife spent months looking for a home to purchase in the area. Even with two professional salaries, they could not find anything in Salisbury in their price range that didn’t “need a ton of work.” They ultimately bought a home in Cornwall.

More reasonably priced housing options would definitely help the White Hart’s business and enable young people to stay in town, adding to Salisbury’s economic and cultural vitality.

This article was published in The Lakeville Journal on 8/8/19.

LaBonne's Market

Bob Labonne Jr

LaBonne’s Market

Bob LaBonne, Jr. works with young people in all three of his stores. Reliable employees are crucial to the success of his business. Only 20% of his employees live in Salisbury and of that 20%, 80% are young and live at home with their families.

He states, “The average commute for staff is 30 minutes with some traveling 45 minutes from as far as Torrington and other distant towns.” To attract long-term employees, he needs to offer more full-time positions with more generous benefits than at his other locations. This raises his costs to the point that he does not make a profit when his seasonal business drops off from January through April.

LaBonne explains, “My employees would love to live in Salisbury if there were more affordable housing options. With three children of my own, I understand well how housing costs impact a person’s quality of life, where they live and what jobs they can pursue. The 2008 recession, along with student loan debt, forces many people to live with extreme economic insecurity. Reasonable rentals would be particularly popular since renting eliminates the necessity for down payments and mortgages. A shorter commute would allow for more free time for family and friends, lower costs for gas, less wear and tear on cars, less stress driving in poor weather, fewer accidents on icy roads and collisions with deer, and access to Salisbury’s excellent schools. It would give me more staffing flexibility if someone calls in sick or is on vacation. Close proximity would also allow for ride sharing, which an option at my other locations.

A healthy downtown population would help my business and make the town center more vibrant.”

This article was published in The Lakeville Journal on 7/18/19.

Salisbury’s Housing Organizations

Over many years there has been an awareness of the need for housing options that are affordable for people who live and work in Salisbury. These local housing organizations are hard at work trying to help our community.

Salisbury Affordable Housing Commission - In 2008, the Board of Selectmen (BoS) created the Affordable Housing Advisory Committee to study affordable housing needs in Salisbury. In June 2010, the committee published “Preserving Salisbury’s Vitality: Housing for Tomorrow” (see town website), which is still relevant today. As a result of their recommendation, the Salisbury Affordable Housing Commission was established. Commission members are volunteers who represent the entire town and work in an advisory capacity to the town government. The SAHC supports those considering building units of affordable housing here, especially the organizations listed below, serves as a referral source for people in search of such housing, and raises awareness of the need for housing and the ways the town can support the creation of affordable housing.

Salisbury Housing Committee - The Salisbury Housing Committee is a non-profit, volunteer organization that has been committed to building and managing affordable rental housing in the Salisbury area since the 1970s when local churches banded together to create Faith House. They now own and manage Faith House and Sarum Village I and II. They work with a managing agent who checks applicants’ financial and criminal backgrounds as well as manages rents and the maintenance of the buildings and grounds.

Salisbury Housing Trust - The Salisbury Housing Trust is a non-profit, volunteer organization that promotes affordable home ownership in the Salisbury towns. They raise funds, primarily through local donors; seek sites on which to build or homes to renovate; and seek qualified applicants. The Housing Trust builds single-family two and three bedroom homes and subsidizes the homes by retaining ownership of the land, allowing the homes to sell well below current median home sales prices. While owners can sell their houses, or gift them to family members, deed restrictions ensure long-term affordability when the homes are resold.

Habitat for Humanity of Northwest Connecticut (Habitat) serves housing needs in Sharon, Salisbury, North Canaan, Norfolk, Canaan/Falls Village and Cornwall. Habitat facilitates home ownership of simple but decent affordable homes for local workforce families who earn 60% of the area median income. Habitat’s proven formula, which keeps costs affordable, involves volunteers who provide most of the labor, individual and corporate donors who provide money and materials, and partner families who are required to work 400 hours sweat equity in building their homes. Once construction is complete, Habitat assumes the role of lender, making a zero-interest mortgage for a reasonable term that best suits the financial strength of the eligible partner applicant.

This article was published in The Lakeville Journal on 7/11/19.

Salisbury Congregational Church

A church is a sanctuary, a place where people can safely ask for help, support, guidance, or information. Many people find their way into the offices of the church seeking assistance, both financial and emotional, for problems arising from a basic need for decent, affordable housing. The church has a fund that assists people with rent, mortgage payments, fuel bills, insurance bills, emergency repairs, and other unforeseen expenses. The Pastor works closely with each person to ensure that all available sources of support have been exhausted before a grant is made. Referrals are made to local and state agencies.

The types of help that we have been able to facilitate for people in the community range from a few hundred dollars for an emergency repair to a few thousand dollars to help with a security deposit or a down payment on a new home. The goal of any intervention or assistance is to maximize the impact while maintaining both the dignity and confidentiality of the recipients. In a small community like ours, people are often reluctant to step forward to ask for help. Our mission, as a church, is to Love God and Love our Neighbor. For us, our faith is lived out when we can help a neighbor find decent, affordable housing.

Salisbury Congregational Church is deeply committed to maximizing community resources to ensure that every person in Salisbury has a place to call home.

Rev. Diane Monti-Catania is the Pastor of Salisbury Congregational Church.

This article was published in The Lakeville Journal on 5/18/16.

Salisbury Housing Committee

The Salisbury Housing Committee has been committed to securing and managing low-income rental housing in the Salisbury area since the 1970s when local churches banded together to create Faith House, six one-bedroom apartments in the East Meadow community. We continue to own and manage Faith House and have added two additional two-bedroom units at East Meadow.

In the 1980s, again with help from local individuals and churches, we developed Sarum Village, a 16-unit complex on Cobble Road. Financing came from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and includes rental supplements for 12 of the 16 units, allowing very low-income residents to live there. Connecticut Real Estate Management provides excellent oversight at both complexes.

Residents in both complexes are vital to our community or related to those who are. They work and shop in our small businesses, volunteer in our institutions, in general helping to maintain our quality of life.

As part of our efforts to help solve the problem of a lack of affordable housing in Salisbury, we have successfully secured a grant from the state to build eight additional units at the Sarum Village site. The process was lengthy, with many documents submitted to the state, first for a pre-development loan (to be repaid with final funds) and now with a grant to build the units. With help from Housing Enterprises Incorporated, a consulting firm that specializes in affordable housing, we have secured architectural plans and chosen a general contractor. We expect the units will be constructed in the spring and summer of 2016.

We look forward to providing much needed affordable rental housing for the community we all cherish so much.

Anne Kremer, President of the Board, Salisbury Housing Committee

This article was published in The Lakeville Journal on 5/12/16.