West River

Homeownership

Campaign

New Haven,

Connecticut

Introduction

The Developer

Tour the Site (Video)

The Member

The Resident (Video)

The Numbers

Purchasing a Home, Restoring Historic Housing

Two homes renovated and sold to first-time home buyers as part of the West River Homeownership Campaign in New Haven.

In 2003, Neighborhood Housing Services of New Haven (NHS) was awarded a $210,000 grant by the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston's Affordable Housing Program (AHP) through member People’s Bank to help fund the West River Homeownership Campaign. The initiative included construction of one new house and the acquisition and rehabilitation of six others to help low- and moderate-income, first-time buyers purchase a home in the city’s West River neighborhood.

Over the last decade, the West River neighborhood has been struggling to recover from a period of decline in which homeownership rates plummeted and the condition of houses owned by absentee landlords deteriorated. In the 1990s, a community group approached NHS for help in stabilizing the neighborhood.

In addition to providing low-income residents with an opportunity to purchase a first home, the West River initiative enabled the restoration of numerous historic houses in this important New Haven neighborhood.

In this multimedia AHP housing profile, the developer, member banker, and resident provide insight into what has made NHS's neighborhood restoration projects a success.