LAUREL, Del. — For families in Laurel, finding a home they can afford can be challenging as housing costs continue to rise.
That could soon change for some families with a new affordable housing development planned in Laurel.
The property, currently an old cornfield, is planned to become Meadow View, a neighborhood with 245 affordable homes.
Biadora Aponte, a Laurel resident, said some families are working multiple jobs just to keep up with the cost of living.
“It's a lot of hardship for a lot of families,” Aponte said. “They're single mothers and single fathers out here that are working one, two, three jobs just to make ends meet.”
Town officials say Laurel's existing water and sewer infrastructure can support the development, with some upgrades expected to be covered by the developer.
“We do have the ability to handle this project in our current infrastructure as far as water and sewer,” Laurel Town Manager Jamie Smith said. “There shouldn't be any effect there other than, again, some upgrades that the developer is already aware of and will cover the cost.”
The project is part of a larger effort to make homeownership more attainable for families in Sussex County.
Matthew Heckles, director of the Delaware State Housing Authority, said federal and state funding can help lower the cost of homes and create more opportunities for families to buy.
“Programs like this where we can bring in some federal money, some state money and other resources to make those homes more affordable means more opportunities for families to buy homes here in Sussex County,” Heckles said.
The Delaware congressional delegation announced Tuesday that nearly $10 million in federal investments will support projects focused on health care and affordable housing in southern Delaware.
