Over $11 Million for Low Income Housing in the First StateMartin Luther Foundation of Dover to Receive More Than $8 Million for Affordable Housing for Seniors, Delegation wrote letters of support to the Department of Housing & Urban Development

WASHINGTON, DC – The First State will receive more than $11 million for low-income housing in communities across the state, as well as important funding to help provide counseling to homebuyers, homeowners and renters, thanks to federal funding announced today by Senators Joe Biden and Tom Carper and Congressman Mike Castle. The funds will help Delaware address important housing, community and economic development needs. The Martin Luther Foundation of Dover will be awarded over $8.7 million for affordable housing for Kent County seniors. Delaware’s Congressional Delegation wrote letters of support for the funding, stressing the need for affordable housing for low-income seniors in Kent County. Substantial federal funding for affordable housing was also announced today for the ARC of Delaware ($1.273 million) and the Alliance for the Mentally Ill ($1.116 million). “This money is a big deal,” said Biden. “When these new housing units are completed, they will give low-income Delawareans throughout the state the opportunity to live full, independent lives with dignity and security.” “This increase in access to low-income housing means Delaware’s working families will have greater access to the American dream of home ownership. There is a real need in our state for additional low-income housing and these new homes will do much to meet that need,” said Carper, who earlier this year joined Delaware families and state and federal housing experts for a series of summits designed to address the growing problem of access to affordable housing. “We need to continue to remove the obstacles to housing for low income and disabled Delawareans,” Castle said. This funding will help in a variety of ways from counseling new homebuyers and seeing them through the process, to building additional apartments for our low income seniors and helping our disabled citizens live in an environment that promotes self sufficiency and integration.” The $8,711,100 grant to the Martin Luther Foundation of Dover was awarded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), for the completion of 68 affordable, accessible one-bedroom apartments. This grant will help begin construction of the first building on Luther Towers’ new campus called Luther Village. The current campus is located on the southeast corner of Silver Lake in Dover and contains four separate units – one state housing project and three federal housing projects, which contain 291 apartments. The apartments will house 297 seniors and 11 handicapped residents. Currently, there is a waiting list comprised of 264 applications. 147 of the applicants are considered to be citizens with very low or extremely low income. This new “village” will be located at the Route 13/113 split in Dover and will help relieve the demand for low-income senior housing. Additionally, HUD awarded a grant for $1,273,000 to the ARC of Delaware to provide affordable housing to very low income Delawareans with disabilities. The funds will be used to acquire and rehabilitate three group homes. Two of the existing residential properties are in New Castle County and the third is in Kent County’s Felton. The ARC of Delaware will work closely with the Delaware Division of Developmental Disabilities to coordinate housing and support services and full integration of residents into the life of the community. HUD also awarded $1,116,100 to the Alliance for the Mentally Ill in Delaware for affordable housing for people with chronic mental illness. The funds will be used to acquire and rehabilitate three properties to provide an affordable, accessible group home environment. The properties will be comprised of 3 and 4 bedroom ranch style and 2-story properties and will meet the housing needs of ten Delawareans with disabilities. The properties are in residential neighborhoods and will foster self-sufficiency and independent living. Finally, HUD awarded a total of over $100,000 in competitive federal grants to five Delaware organizations to help provide counseling to homebuyers, homeowners and renters. The Housing Counseling Program will help Delawareans address important housing needs by holding workshops and offering counseling to prospective homebuyers and owners, as well as renters on a wide variety of housing-related issues. FY2002 Housing Counseling Awards are being given to: $19,122.00 NCALL Research, Inc. (Dover) $19,701.00 Community Housing, Inc. (Wilmington) $15,644.00 Neighborhood House, Inc (Wilmington) $20,000.00 YWCA of New Castle County (Wilmington) $16,357.00 Delaware State Housing Authority (Wilmington)