Georgetown, Del., June 13, 2023: Sussex County is placing another brick in its efforts to construct a solution to the affordable housing need in southern Delaware.

County Council on Tuesday, June 13, 2023, approved $2 million in grants from the County’s Housing Trust Fund for projects to build or preserve nearly 160 affordable housing units. Four recipients each will receive $500,000 in grants for projects planned in and around Laurel, Lewes, Georgetown, Milford, and Seaford. Recipients include the Commonwealth Development Corp., Leon N. Weiner & Associates, NeighborGood Partners, and Sussex Habitat for Humanity.

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,” said Brandy Nauman, director of the County’s Community Development & Housing department. “We believe these funds will go a long way in helping to put people in homes in our community.”

Under the developer portion of the trust fund, groups applying for grants must build or rehabilitate housing units, either rentals or owner-occupied, and market them as affordable toward individuals and households meeting income eligibility requirements.

For more information on the program, visit www.sussexcountyde.gov/housing-trust-fund.

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