Senate President Pro Tem Dave Sokola (D-Newark) told his fellow lawmakers during Thursday’s Senate session that he plans to retire from office after the current legislative session.

Ongoing efforts to address the substantial need for more affordable housing suggest multiple solutions are necessary to build the needed level of available housing stock.One approach that could help is something called “upper floor housing,” or upper floor redevelopment projects. They are a way some communities are utilizing underused spaces, like empty office buildings or unused historic buildings, to meet the demands for housing while preserving their downtown facade.Upstairs Downtown is an organization that seeks to help upper floor redevelopers through workshops like one last month at the Smyrna Opera House.Delaware Public Media’s Isreal Hale spend time with historic preservation architect Mike Jackson and Carmody Consulting principal consultant Dan Carmody to learn how Delaware communities could benefit from upper floor redevelopment.