George Meringolo, founder of Little Living, an organization focused on bringing affordable housing to the area, is optimistic about a project the company is planning in Frederica. His optimism is despite Kent County’s refusal to schedule a pre-application meeting for the project.
“Everybody’s blowing it out of proportion. I expected this as we met with them early on,” Meringolo said. “I know what their position is. I also know that we have a proclamation from the governor saying we are the foremost advocate and producer of affordable housing in the state of Delaware. It’s just a matter of getting everybody on the same page.”
Meringolo pointed out that his organization is not trying to change the zoning on the property, owned by Robert Murphy, which is already zoned commercial-residential. The development, which will be called “Murphy’s Village,” will have a convenience store, a fast-food restaurant, a laundromat and self-storage which will meet the requirement for a mixed-use development under almost every other mixed-use code in Delaware.
“In my humble opinion, if you’re putting business and houses on the same piece of property zoned commercial-residential, that is mixed use,” Meringolo said. “What Kent County wants is a store on the first floor and they want tenements above it, apartments. That’s not a village. That’s not making people live in nice places. It’s pigeonholing in an inhuman way. We’re trying to make a nice place that’s totally integrated for people to live in. There will be playgrounds, walking trails, a place to barbecue, a place to have picnics.”
Meringolo is quick to point out that the homes in the development will not be considered tiny homes. These are smaller residences that are between 450 and 650 square feet. He calls the homes “cottages,” pointing out that there will be one, two and three-bedroom units. He also stated that this was not a homeless development, but workforce housing.
“The affordable housing crisis in Delaware is immense,” Meringolo said. “In the next five years, we will need 45,000 affordable homes, but the term affordable is a problem in itself. What is affordable for me may not be affordable for you. So, the real definition for affordable is that you spend less than 30 percent of your salary on housing. That would mean someone making $60,000 per year should not pay more than $1,500 a month for housing. The average two-bedroom apartment is $1,819 and the average three bedroom is $2,223 in this area.”
Meringolo also used the example of someone making $35,000 per year, stating that someone with that salary could not afford more than $875 per month. In the Little Living development, rents for two bedrooms will be $1,100 a month while a three bedroom would be $1,200 per month, all including utilities.
“We are also looking at purchase options in Kent,” Meringolo said. “We are hoping to have about 170 homes in the development. Between 30 and 40 of them will be rentals and the rest will be sales. A one-bedroom will sell for about $110,000; a two-bedroom for about $120,000 and a three-bedroom for about $135,000.”
As a non-profit, Meringolo explained that every dollar they raise goes into the project. None of the board earns a salary and are all volunteers. A similar project with rentals only is having significant success in Georgetown with two houses already under construction and an additional 20 expected by the end of the year.
“We will have to charge fees as we have to maintain the streets, cut the grass and keep the outside of the houses repaired in the case of the rentals,” Meringolo said. “But these fees will be very low. This will not be an HOA, but we will have some regulations. If you rent or purchase the home, you must live in it. We will not permit short-term rentals. We will have requirements for yard maintenance and such, but nothing really stringent.”
Meringolo believes this project will come to fruition as Governor Matt Meyer is fully on board. Meyer campaigned on a promise to address the affordable housing crisis. He also stated that Matt Heckles, Director of the Delaware State Housing Authority, was fully on board with the project as well.
“I know Kent County will change their minds about this,” Meringolo said. “It is just a matter of showing them that their mixed-use code needs to be changed. I have full faith that this will happen.”
Glad that this type of housing is going to be available if approved