Delivering Affordable Homeownership Opportunities
Created By
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- and 6 partners in our collective impact network
In many towns in Litchfield County, CT median home prices exceed $700,000 and people who grew up and work in the region are competing for the same limited housing stock as second home buyers with incomes from areas like New York City. Homes below these median sales prices are often older and require significant and costly renovations that households below the area median income cannot afford. A significant stock of “starter” type homes simply does not exist here.
Beginning in 2025, the Litchfield County Center for Housing Opportunity, an initiative of the Housing Collective, started the Litchfield County Affordable Homeownership Program to build new homes more rapidly and cost-effectively by aligning funding sources, coordinating with partners, and working across town lines.
Many local housing non-profits owned sites where they could build single family homes. Yet the sites were sitting vacant because the non-profits alone could not access the funding required to build the home for a price that households earning below the area median income could afford.
LCCHO brought together ten sites across multiple towns into one coordinated project, creating the volume needed to access institutional financing, achieve economies of scale, attract a general contractor, and secure State grant funding. The program also utilized modular construction–manufacturing home components in factory environments before on-site assembly–an effective method to speed up construction timelines while maintaining quality.
The focus was operational:
- Access institutional financing
- Achieve economies of scale
- Accelerate construction timelines
“This program demonstrates that, working together, we can attract the resources needed to fill the affordability gap and create affordable, sustainable homeowner options in our rural region. These modular homes are also really fun to watch going up all in one day!”
The project will ultimately provide 10 brand-new, all electric single-family homes that will be sold at $300,000 or less to income-eligible families. The local housing nonprofits own the sites and will continue to retain the land under the homes after they are sold to maintain affordability in perpetuity.
- 4 homes in Salisbury, CT
- 4 homes in Cornwall, CT
- 1 home in Norfolk, CT
- 1 home in Washington, CT
To date, four homes have been sold, all to first time homebuyer families that live and work in the region.
“LCCHO has been able to provide more houses than any of the individual towns would be able to do on their own”
As a regional backbone, the Housing Collective can deliver these programs by strategically aligning resources and partners from across the housing ecosystem. The Litchfield County Affordable Homeownership Program demonstrates how creative, targeted technical assistance strengthens the housing system itself–advancing housing stability across the regions we serve.
in partnership with
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Capital for Change
Capital for Change has grown to be the largest full-service Community Development Financial Institution in Connecticut.
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Connecticut Department Of Housing
The Department of Housing (DOH) strengthens and revitalizes communities by promoting affordable housing opportunities. DOH seeks to eliminate homelessness and to catalyze the creation and preservation of quality, affordable housing to meet the needs of all individuals and families statewide to ensure that Connecticut continues to be a great place to live and work.
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Cornwall Housing Corp.
Cornwall Housing Corporation (CHC) invests in affordable housing solutions by offering programs and services designed to develop, preserve, and sustain affordable housing throughout Cornwall, Connecutict. Our mission is to provide housing to young adults, families, and seniors in Cornwall, which is critically important especially for those that work and serve in our community. Our core focus is on creating and sustaining these housing options for our town.
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Foundation for Norfolk Living
The mission of the Foundation for Norfolk Living is to create housing opportunities in Norfolk that are affordable to persons and families of modest means.
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Salisbury Housing Trust
The purpose of this corporation is to pursue and achieve the goal of acquiring, building or renovating, and managing housing and related facilities affordable to low- and moderate-income families in the Town of Salisbury, and to do so with care and concern for the general wellbeing of these families and the community at large.
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Washington Community Housing Trust
The WCHT is a non-profit organization dedicated to establish and maintain affordable housing in the Town of Washington. With the help of Town, State and many generous donors, WCHT has developed 37 affordable apartments between its three properties.
