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.