Wilmington works toward Homestead Housing for town residents

WILMINGTON | The Town of Wilmington has a plan to provide much-needed homes that are within the budgets of its residents, but the sticking point is finding the land necessary to make it happen. It's a problem that is likely to surface in other parts of the Adirondacks as well, as officials struggle to provide housing for working people in a region where the price is often driven out of their reach by second or vacation homes, and short-term rentals. Wilmington Supervisor Roy Holzer said the town has a $123,000 grant from the Northern Border Regional Commission for sewer development, which includes a provision for land acquisition. That would allow the town to buy a large parcel within the town water district that would accommodate a septic system with enough left over for a cluster of building lots. The lots, including utilities, would be deeded to residents who qualified for construction financing. "It's not a giveaway program, it's for people who would have real skin in the game," Holzer said. "But at the end of the day, the place would be theirs." The lots would be restricted to full-time residents, and could not be sold for vacation homes or short-term rental units. The houses would be more affordable because the costly land, roads, sewer and water would be provided under what the town is calling Wilmington Homestead Housing. The payback for the town is not just in an expanded tax base, but in more people who will become valuable additions to the community, taking an interest in local institutions like the library and fire department. "It's not something that can happen overnight, but I think it can really work," Holzer said. The wild card is the availability, or more accurately lack of availability, to land on which such a subdivision could be built. The pandemic, which has sent property prices soaring and inventories plunging, has created a scarcity of land. "A lot of property has already been sold, and for enormous sums," Holzer said. "Land is getting tougher and tougher to find." To illustrate, Holzer said the town and a local land trust were jointly working on purchasing a 90-acre parcel on Hardy Road that would have benefitted both the goals of conservation and residential homebuilding — but the property was bought out from under them. Local residents have suffered similar consequences, Holzer said. While going through the arduous process of qualifying for a loan, the property will be sold to someone who can simply write a check. "If you're trying to make a living here, finding a home to buy is going to be a real challenge," Holzer said. "The people from metropolitan areas can pay cash.

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Wilmington works toward Homestead Housing for town residents

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