City manager Doug Elliott said they have been working with Muller since 2018. A site on U.S. 27 South was originally discussed but did not come to fruition.
“The availability of American Rescue Plan Act funds in February 2021 provided an opportunity to move this concept forward at another location and accomplish Council’s affordable housing priority,” Elliott said, explaining that passage of that October ordinance authorized purchase of the Hester Road property and closing on the sale was held Nov. 10.
“The project includes construction of 12 cottages to create a cottage community (planned use development).”
The cottages are planned for lease to lower-income families and older residents for indefinite lengths of time.
Several Hester Road residents spoke against the plan at consideration of the purchase in October. Comments included fears of lower property values there due to lower-income housing being placed there in addition to Habitat for Humanity homes already built and still to come. They asked Council to consider a different location for the cottage community project.
No one was there to speak at Tuesday’s meeting on the proposal.
“The cottage community targets a mixed population of persons needing affordable housing — five will be occupied by displaced families, five will be occupied by low-income seniors 60 and older and two will house other income-qualifying households,” Elliott said Tuesday. “The cottages are self-contained housing units, 364 square feet ... All cottages have only one bedroom, kitchenette, great room, bathroom and front porch.”
When Muller spoke in October, she touted the front porches as an opportunity for residents to be outdoors and available to neighbors, with the idea of forming community among the residents, rather than just being places to live.
The city manager added on Tuesday, “Units come furnished including stackable washer/dryer and loft. All cottages will meet HUD Housing Quality Standards and are rented at or below fair market rate.”
The ordinance, which got first reading Tuesday, calls for the city-owned land to be leased for 20 years at a dollar a year with the tenant given the right to extend it for an additional 20 years.
Council member David Prytherch has long been an advocate for affordable housing in the city and praised effort to bring this project this far.
“It’s great we are able to do this,” he said.
In a letter to the city on May 3 and included in the Council agenda packet Tuesday, Muller wrote the estimated cost is $867,150 with funding coming from six sources, including the city and the Oxford Community Foundation. She said there would no permanent debt on the property and provided a timeline for the project.
That timeline calls for the project to be completed between March and August of next year.
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