First-Time Homebuyers Selected For
7 Affordable Condo Units At Adams Mill River House – 2
In Lottery Drawn By Mayor Malloy
Housing Development Fund Works With Development Partners
Seth G. Weinstein and Paxton and Ray Kinol to Make Home Ownership
Dream Come True Under Stamford’s Model Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance
STAMFORD, Conn., March 28, 2007- Seven families achieved
the dream of homeownership under Stamford’s model Inclusionary
Zoning Ordinance at an event at the Stamford Government Center
this evening. The ceremony included a lottery drawing by
Mayor Dannel Malloy to break a seven-way tie for two of the
units at Adams Mill River House condominiums on Adams Avenue
being offered at below market rates (BMR) as affordable housing.
The developers, Seth G. Weinstein of Hannah Real Estate Investors
and Paxton and Ray Kinol of Stillwater Investment Management,
worked with the nonprofit bank and homebuyer services organization
Housing Development Fund (HDF) to find and assist first time
homebuyers qualified under the ordinance.
Buyers for five of the units were selected outright based
on criteria related to factors of income, family size, unit
size availability and desire to own at this development.
Seven families were placed in a lottery for the remaining
two units due to the fact that there were more qualified
applicants than available units.
“We are proud that Stamford’s Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance has helped
another seven hard-working households to homeownership and believe that it will
also benefit the remaining applicants in the future,” said Mayor Malloy. “The
success of these efforts has put Stamford in a leadership position for affordable
housing development in Connecticut and has made our ordinance a model for replication
around the United States.”
The ordinance calls for developers of more than 10 units to offer 10 percent
to 12 percent of the development at below market rates to make them affordable
for low- and moderate-income first-time homebuyers. Housing Development Fund
works with developers to help them identify, qualify, counsel, and put together
financing for interested applicants.
“We worked with Mr. Weinstein and the Kinols on an earlier project, Mill
River House, which is now a fully-occupied and successful development,” said
HDF President & CEO Joan Carty.
“The development partners are building five projects in Stamford alone,
including two large mixed use buildings on the east side of town that will also
include BMR units,” Carty added. “Through their and the City’s
efforts and commitment to increasing the number of affordable units in Stamford,
we can serve more of the potential homebuyers who come to us for help.”
HDF had more than 100 inquiries about the affordable units. The applicants attended
an HDF orientation meeting after which the organization assessed each for income
eligibility and mortgage readiness. Some households were over the income limit,
were not mortgage ready or available units did not meet their needs. Others ended
up purchasing elsewhere. The process narrowed the list down to the five households
that were matched directly to units and those seven who were entered into the
lottery.
The selected homebuyers and those in the lottery work in a wide range of industries
and professions including sales, marketing, machine operation, housekeeping,
accounting, education, office administration, and nursing. The units will be
available for occupancy starting in late April.
Developer Seth G. Weinstein said, “I have lived and worked in Stamford
for more than two decades and am very proud that our company was the first to
build developments with inclusionary for-sale Below Market Rate units. I believe
in inclusionary housing and fully support the City of Stamford’s innovative
efforts in this direction.”
Seth G. Weinstein has been in the real estate development business for almost
30 years and has been involved in construction and redevelopment of millions
of square feet of office, residential and hotel properties along the eastern
seaboard – from Vermont to Florida. Weinstein and his Connecticut partners,
Paxton and Ray Kinol, are involved in almost half a billion dollars of projects
in Fairfield and New Haven Counties and along coastal Connecticut. Weinstein’s
Hannah Real Estate Investors and the Kinols’ Stillwater Investment Management
have offices at 35 West Broad Street in Stamford and Weinstein also has offices
in Manhattan.
Founded in 1989, the Housing Development Fund has expanded to serve all of southwestern
Connecticut from its headquarters in Stamford and a Danbury office opened in
2004. HDF offers a variety of homebuyer programs, including its First Time Homebuyers
Program, SmartMove low interest second mortgage Program, CHFA (Connecticut Housing
Finance Authority) approved Homebuyer Education Classes Program and Below Market
Rate Program (BMR). HDF is a HUD-certified lender and Housing Counseling agency.
HDF’s Multi-Family Lending Program facilitates the development of affordable
housing. It provides multi-family homebuyers, nonprofit and private developers
of affordable, senior and special needs units with a variety of finance options.
HDF provides acquisition/construction, pre-development, bridge and permanent
first mortgage financing at favorable interest rates – one of the only
local sources of long-term, below market financing for affordable housing in
its service area.
Through its approach that pools risk for lenders, HDF is
a leader in providing first mortgages for the development
of multi-family units.
HDF manages public/private partnerships to lend funds for
these affordable housing initiatives – it has the largest
public/private pool of first mortgage financing for affordable
housing in Connecticut – both homeownership and multi-family
development- $38 million. The Housing Development Fund, Inc.
has its headquarters at 100 Prospect Street, South Tower
Plaza, Suite SP-101, Stamford, Connecticut 06901. For additional
information call Tami Strauss at 203-969-1830 x19 or visit
www.hdf-ct.org.
|
