A large new housing development could be coming to Kent County.
The proposed subdivision, called Ellery Farm, would create 354 townhouses on an 82-acre parcel south of Smyrna.
Jonathan Contant with K. Hovnanian Homes, a large homebuilder operating in multiple states, stressed that denser housing developments like this are the key to lowering housing prices.
“This is what a lot of people are moving towards because it makes the homes more affordable when you can fit more units in to spread some of those land development costs," he said.
But, at a meeting on Thursday, Kent County Regional Planning Commission member Glenn Gauvry raised questions about the actual affordability of the proposed new homes.
“Since we're talking about low-cost housing and increasing density to make that more affordable, I'm just curious as to what the average cost of these homes are," Gauvry asked.
Contant noted that while they intend to target first-time homebuyers, these homes are not necessarily “affordable” as defined by state or federal policy.
“We intend for these to be first-time home buyers, not necessarily what is considered by Delaware Code affordable or by federal mortgage qualifications affordable," Contant said. "But I think right now we're anticipating them to be somewhere in the low [$300,000 range].”
The Regional Planning Commission is set to vote next week on whether to recommend approval to Kent County Levy Court, which has the final say.
