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The Ferry Crossing project at 45 Ferry Road in Old Saybrook will be comprised of 16 new affordable townhouses located in the historic Ferry Point neighborhood of Old Saybrook. Construction of the project began last year and is expected to be ready for occupancy in June. The innovative project will be the first of its kind in the area, developed to help address the high housing costs and lack of high quality rental housing on the shoreline.
Ferry Crossing has been designed by Point One Architects to match the New England architectural style found along Connecticut’s shoreline. It is the first housing development to be built under the State of Connecticut’s HOMEConnecticut legislation, which encourages towns to create incentives for affordable housing. The project represents a true partnership between the Town of Old Saybrook and HOPE Partnership. HOPE’s co-owner in the development of the project is the Women’s Institute for Housing and Economic Development (WIHED), a regional non-profit leader in the development of affordable housing, based in Middletown.
The Town will retain ownership of the land, which will be leased to HOPE for $1 per year. The low cost of the land and low cost financing has allowed rents to remain affordable to working families who have been unable to afford to live in the area. Financing for the project came from the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD), and private financing from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston and Liberty Bank.
The Ferry Crossing site is an ideal location for this purpose. It is “transit-oriented” along the Estuary Transit District route, one mile from the Old Saybrook rail station, and walking distance to the Connecticut River. It employs environmentally sound design, protecting wetlands, using natural vegetation and turns a former brownfield site into productive use that will once again pay property taxes to the Town of Old Saybrook. The new homes will be attractive and adjacent to a planned 2.5 acre playing field that will be open to the public and maintained by Town of Old Saybrook for youth sports and recreation.
The development will include 4 one-bedroom units, 8 two-bedroom units, and 4 three-bedroom units. Four (4) units will be targeted to families who are living in motels, homeless, or at risk of homelessness, and two of those units will be targeted to military veterans referred by the US Department of Veterans Affairs, which will also provide support services.
DeMarco Management Corporation has been engaged as the property manager for Ferry Crossing. DeMarco is one of the leading residential property managers in the region. DeMarco will coordinate the marketing and will maintain a list of interested persons. If the applicant meets the income requirements, DeMarco will use a point system to determine the order of placement on the waiting list. There are 4 preference categories: Current resident, municipal employee, veteran, and least likely to apply. DeMarco will select applicants based on their preference status and order on the waiting list.
Applications will be available from the HOPE Partnership website www.hope-ct.org or picked up at the HOPE Partnership offices at 121 Main Street in Old Saybrook. Due to the large number of potential applicants who have already expressed interest, DeMarco will accept applications between the dates April 2nd thru April 6th only. Applications may be submitted by mail, in-person, fax, or email to:
DeMarco Management
117 Murphy Rd
Hartford, CT 06114
Phone: (860) 951-9411
Fax: (860) 951-3622
DeMarco will time and date stamp each application, assign the points, and then begin the verification for the applicants based on position on the list by unit size and income tier. Questions may be directed to DeMarco Management at mkayode@demarcomc.com. Please do not send any inquiries to HOPE Partnership on the application process or to check on the status of your application.
About HOPE Partnership:
HOPE Partnership was established in 2003 with the support of Middlesex United Way to address the affordable housing shortage in the shoreline towns of Middlesex County. HOPE’s philosophy is to create alliances with town government, builders, and other private partners to build housing that is attractive, sustainable and appropriate to the surrounding neighborhood. More information about HOPE can be found at www.hope-ct.org
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