The Town of Morris is one of eight Connecticut communities which shall receive a portion of $12.1 million in state grants.
Officials in the town of Morris say the Small Cities Grant enables the construction of the first affordable multi-family homes operated by Morris Housing Authority.
The funds are integral to the construction and, had they not been awarded, the town would have likely tried again for the Community Development Block Grant next year, according to Morris Housing Authority Executive Director James Simoncelli Jr.
“It's instrumental in the start of the work on the land, getting through town approvals was the first important step, now we have money to kind of do the next phase,” Simoncelli said. “The town hired a housing consultant firm and they kind of spearheaded the application itself. It's very, very involved with environmental studies, with proposed plans, with estimated budget numbers.”
The funds will go toward the first phase of infrastructure work. That work includes digging for wells and septic systems that will serve two affordable multi-family homes on East Street. With four units in each home, a total of 24 people can be housed, Simoncelli said.
Plans for the homes were approved by the town earlier this month. A timeline for project completion and construction costs are undetermined as it’s in the early stages, Simoncelli said.
The homes will be on a plot adjacent to existing senior housing run by the Housing Authority. The land was purchased by the Authority using some of the town’s American Rescue Plan Act dollars.
One of the town’s goals is to draw in more young residents, to keep pace with surrounding communities.
“One of the things in the housing plan for Morris was to have just affordable housing units, we wanted to, you know, kind of follow through with that, attract younger families to Morris,” Simoncelli said. “The surrounding towns is very similar, where they're aging communities. So, to offer affordable housing, potentially to young families, is the direction we want to go.”
Windsor, Rocky Hill and Wethersfield, are among the other towns to receive millions to rehabilitate senior and affordable housing. Eligible projects must be in a municipality with less than 50,000 residents.
The application process for the fund includes an application review and scoring process, according to Department of Housing (DOH) spokesperson Aaron Turner.
Reviewers include DOH and the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority asset managers for public housing projects, along with recommendations made to the DOH Commissioner.
