Sussex County awards $2M Housing Trust Fund grants

GEORGETOWN – For developers to construct or maintain roughly 160 affordable housing units, Sussex County authorized $2 million in Housing Trust Fund grants.

For projects envisioned in and around Laurel, Lewes, Georgetown, Milford, and Seaford, four applicants will each receive funds totaling $500,000. The Commonwealth Development Corp., Leon N. Weiner & Associates, NeighborGood Partners, and Sussex Habitat for Humanity are among the organizations that have received grants.

Established in 2022 to boost the County’s affordable housing stock, the Housing Trust Fund was seeded with $6.8 million in funding, much of that by way of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds from the federal government, to aid individual homebuyers, as well as assist developers and groups working to create more affordable housing options. This is the program’s second round; the County awarded $2.5 million in grants in the initial round last summer.

“Programs such as this can help satisfy the growing demand for affordable housing,” Brandy Nauman, director of the County’s Community Development & Housing department, said “We believe these funds will go a long way in helping to put people in homes in our community.”

For consideration under the developer component of the trust fund, organizations must construct or renovate rental or owner-occupied housing units and promote them as reasonably priced for people and families who fulfill the qualifying standards for housing.