DOVER, DE- Delaware has received $5 million in funding from the state’s latest Bond Bill for a newly developed Workforce Housing Program aimed at addressing the growing shortage of affordable and workforce housing across the state.
Created through legislation passed in 2024 and funded by this year’s Bond Bill, the program aims to expand affordable housing options for middle-class working families.
The struggle to find affordable housing is evident across all three Delaware counties, including communities like Milford.
Milford Mayor Todd Culotta emphasized the importance of providing housing options for workers who serve the community and contribute to the local economy.
“We want to make housing available to teachers, to hospital workers, to service industry workers. They have all got to live here in our community, or you’re not going to have places to eat and be able to get taken care of at the hospital.”
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, rising housing costs have made the situation more difficult—especially for working-class families.
Patricia Kelleher, with NeighborGood Partners, highlighted the sharp rent increase in recent years.
“The average rent in Delaware in 2018 was $950. At the end of last year, it was $1,482. That’s a huge jump.”
Kelleher said many workers—particularly in southern Delaware—are now forced to live farther from their jobs.
“All of those people are perhaps being forced to move further and further away from where they work, which puts pressure on them.”
However, the newly developed Workforce Housing Program aims to ease these pressures.
Matt Heckles, with the Delaware State Housing Authority, said the program aims to provide more affordable housing for community members to live near where they work, which he believes will improve traffic, strengthen schools, and benefit the entire community.
“If you have a development of 200 homes and it is miles away from the grocery store, miles away from school, miles away from the pharmacy, people have to use the roads a lot more. So dense development is actually better for traffic and for transportation issues.”
Governor Matt Meyer echoed this sentiment in a written statement to WBOC.
“When workers can live nearby, our communities become more connected, more resilient, and more economically vibrant.”
Senator Russ Huxtable (D- DE District 6), who sponsored the Workforce Housing Program bill passed in June 2024, said the idea was modeled after Delaware’s successful Downtown Development District initiative.
That program saw the state invest about $40 to $50 million, leveraging roughly $500 million in private investment to revitalize targeted downtown corridors.
While the Workforce Housing Program is just getting started with $5 million in initial funding, Huxtable hopes to see similar success on a broader scale.
“So I’m hoping for similar outcomes in this program as well. Might be a little harder, but we’ve also expanded the geographic boundaries of the workforce housing program over the Downtown Development District program.”
Delaware State Housing Authority officials say they are now focusing on the program's logistics and details, hoping to have it up and running by the end of the calendar year.