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Affordable housing project breaks ground in Laurel

Seven people push shovels into the ground. Between them is a sign that reads "Laurel Redevelopment Corporation -- The Promenade." The shovels have blue bows and the sky is cloudy.
Abigail Lee
/
Delaware Public Media
The Laurel Redevelopment Corporation has also developed a public park and has plans to redevelop the Broad Creek waterfront.

Laurel Redevelopment Corporation hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for an affordable housing project in Laurel Wednesday.

LRC is spearheading The Promenade, a centrally-located development of duplexes priced below market rates that hopes to encourage locals to become homeowners.

Delaware State Housing Authority Director of Housing Development Stephanie Griffin said there is a nationwide shortage of affordable housing, and the same is true in Laurel.

“I think it's a really great example of bringing together a lot of different resources and a lot of different interest groups and partners to the table to have a conversation and be like, ‘Okay, how are we going to get creative? How are we going to work together?’” Griffin said.

Nally Ventures is also among the project partners. Its vice president Conor Nally said an affordable housing project like The Promenade fits with LRC’s focus on residents’ economic empowerment.

“They want to make sure that people are not ever overspending on their homes, so they can have more availability to really live and grow in the places they call home,” Nally said. “Through affordable housing, that's a very easy and direct way for Laurel to achieve that.”

LRC previously developed a public park and owns several buildings it leases out to local businesses. Two other LRC projects already have houses built.

Nally said LRC wants the homes they add to Laurel to fit into the town aesthetically.

“So [the architects] just took some elements of traditional Laurel home designs and incorporated them into these four homes and then moving forward with duplexes, so they feel a part of the community, not separate or segmented from the community,” Nally said.

The nonprofit also has plans drawn up to redevelop the Broad Creek waterfront with community spaces including a kayak launch and a playground.

With degrees in journalism and women’s and gender studies, Abigail Lee aims for her work to be informed and inspired by both.

She is especially interested in rural journalism and social justice stories, which came from her time with NPR-affiliate KBIA at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Mo.

She speaks English and Russian fluently, some French, and very little Spanish (for now!)
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