Lottery offers chance at below-market houses

April 6, 2007; As originally appeared in The Hour by Lawrence Dequintal, Wilton Villager, & Stamford Times

STAMFORD — To help satisfy the need for affordable housing, the Stamford Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance requires new developments of more than 10 units to offer 10 percent to 12 percent of the development at below market rates (BMR) for qualified first time homebuyers. Last week, one milestone of that development came to fruition.

Mayor Dannel Malloy, presiding over the event at the Stamford Government Center on March 28, announced seven winners of BMR units at Adams Mill River House, a 60-unit luxury condominium at 17-31 Adams Ave.

Qualified buyers for five of the seven available BMR units were selected outright, based on income, family size, unit size availability, and desire to own at this development. For the remaining two units, seven families were placed in a lottery, because there were more qualified applicants than available units.

Winners of the lottery, Tamika Handy and Norma Montavo, were selected in a drawing by Malloy, who said: “We are proud that Stamford’s Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance has helped another seven hard-working households to homeownership and believe that it will also benefit the remaining applicants in the future. The success of these efforts has put Stamford in a leadership position for affordable housing in Connecticut and has made our ordinance a model for replication around the United States.”

The developers of Adams Mill River House, Seth G. Weinstein, Principal of Hannah Real Estate Investors, and Paxton and Ray Kinol, Principals of Stillwater Investment Management, were the first developers to offer inclusionary BMR units in Stamford. “I have lived and worked in Stamford for more than two decades,” said Weinstein, “I believe in inclusionary housing and fully support the City of Stamford’s innovative efforts in this direction.”

Weinstein and partners selected the nonprofit bank and homebuyer services organization Housing Development Fund (HDF) to identify seven buyers. HDF fielded inquiries about the BMR units from more than 100 interested households.

According to HDF, “The applicants attended an HDF orientation meeting after which the organization assessed each for income eligibility and mortgage readiness. Some households were over the income limit, were not mortgage ready, or available units did not meet their needs. Others ended up purchasing elsewhere. The process narrowed the list down to five households that were matched directly to units, and those seven who were entered into the lottery.”

Describing the employment backgrounds of the buyers/lottery entrants, HDF said they represent a wide range of industries and professions, including sales, marketing, machine operation, housekeeping, accounting, education, office administration, and nursing. Six of the seven selected buyers live in Stamford and two of the seven work in Stamford. The units will be available for occupancy starting in late April.

HDF President & CEO Joan Carty said, “We worked with Mr. Weinstein and the Kinols on an earlier project, Mill River House (at West Broad and Hanrahan Streets), which is now a fully-occupied and successful development.”

“ The development partners are building five projects in Stamford alone,” Carty added, “including two large mixed-use buildings on the east side of town, that will also include BMR units. Through their and the City’s efforts and commitment to increasing the number of affordable units in Stamford, we can serve more of the potential homebuyers who come to us by help.”

To fulfill the Stamford Board of Reps affordable requirement, developers may: 1) Award a cash payment to a housing agency to purchase a lot and build; 2) Provide the affordability unit off site; 3) Provide affordability units within the project. “For both Mill River House and Adams Mill River House,” said Weinstein, “we offered inclusionary affordability.”

Repeating the same traditional architecture as Mill River House, the four-and-a-half story Adams Mill River House includes a brick and shingle exterior and a townhouse style façade, with stairs to many of the street-front homes. Tim Gooding, AIA, of Benfield & Associates in Norwalk, designed both projects.

The amenities at Adams Mill River House condominiums include a private fitness center, outdoor garden and a recreation area. Individual condominiums feature gas burning fireplaces and oval soaking tubs. Deluxe island kitchens have raised- panel cabinets, granite countertops and several choices among GE kitchen appliances.
All units come standard with wall- to-wall carpeting, full-size washers and dryers, and walk-in closets. Some units have private balconies with French doors, cathedral ceilings and lofts.

Seth G. Weinstein has been in the real estate business for more than 25 years. He has led or managed the construction, development and redevelopment of millions of square feet of office, residential and hotel properties along the entire eastern seaboard. Weinstein and his Connecticut partners, Paxton and Ray Kinol, are involved in projects valued at almost a half billion dollars in Fairfield and New Haven counties, and along the Connecticut shoreline.

The Housing Development Fund founded in 1989, serves southwestern Connecticut with a variety of affordable homebuyer programs for: First Time Homebuyers; SmartMove low interest second mortgages; CHFI (Connecticut Housing Finance Authority) approved Homebuyer Education Classes; and Below Market Rate properties. HDF is a HUD certified lender and Housing Counseling agency.

According to HDF, the Housing Development Fund manages public/private partnerships to lend funds for housing initiatives and has the largest pool of first mortgage financing for affordable housing in Connecticut: $38 million, for both homeownership and multi-family development.

For HDF information, contact The Housing Development Fund, Inc. at: (203) 969-1830, ext. 19. For information about Seth G. Weinstein and partners, Paxton and Ray Kinol, contact Hannah Real Estate Investors, LLC at: (203) 569-9183.