It’s one thing to talk about affordable housing as a campaign issue or as a matter of policy, but it’s quite a different when a great example is staring you in the face.
And that will be the experience of thousands of Easton motorists and pedestrians as they travel on Port Street over the next year as they watch the construction of a three-floor mixed-use building, just a block from Route 322, called Port Street Commons.
With an official groundbreaking already done, The Arc, and its Chesapeake Neighbors affiliate, are well on their way to creating a unique model for affordable housing. While the first floor will house The Arc’s service center, which will provide a much-needed community resource center for those with intellectual or developmental disabilities, the building will offer nine affordable housing units ranging from two to three-bedroom apartments, targeting families with a household income at or below 60% of the area median income.
It’s a bold vision for what The Arc calls “expanding the possible.” But it does nonetheless come with some real challenges. We asked Arc advisor, Rivers & Roads’ Ross Benincasa, to walk us through that vision, some of the obstacles being faced, and the unique model Port Street Commons might become in the years ahead as other Eastern Shore communities find new ways to meet their housing needs.
This video is approximately five minutes in length. For more information about The Arc-Central Chesapeake, its Chesapeake Neighbors program, or Port Street Commons please go here.
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