During comments at Thursday’s Regular Meeting, Town Manager Hozey said that a developer has made the decision to build affordable/workforce housing in Cape Charles.
There are very few details available, but the project will be located near the town lots that house the Keck Wells. Currently, town water and sewer are not available.
According to Mr. Hozey, the developer is not looking to make a profit on the work and just wants to break even. The size and number of units are not known at this time.
The Mirror will gather more details as they become available.
Great news! Now Biden can send bus loads of illegals from the border to the Eastern Shore. Think of all the cheap labor! Better start brushing up on your Spanish language.
You are right!
This is the most ignorant comment I could have imagined. Way to conflate a bunch of your perceived issues with a totally unrelated topic. It’s remarks like these that make the Eastern Shore look like a bunch of backwoods xenophobes. Thanks!
‘Eastern Shore look like a bunch of backwoods xenophobes.’
That is exactly what it is. Political correctness has coddled you into thinking otherwise.
Don’t confuse political correctness for kindness. Bless your heart.
They are already here…press one for English.
What are the keck wells and where are they?
Note: Several years ago, the town drilled two new wells which were screened in the Upper Yorktown aquifer and the pipeline to hopefully provide more water and better quality. The pipeline is still in the works:
∗ Keck Well I (2010, 122’ Depth), screened in the Upper Yorktown
∗ Keck Well II (2010, 122’ Depth), screened in the Upper Yorktown
The property is off 641 (15-16 acres??), but I could not find a map with the exact locations of the wells. Someone else may have better location data.
I am guessing this is where the quadplex already is with additional building lots already appropriated that Parr Properties has. There is a new “for rent” sign there and the individual units are no longer listed for sale as condos.
Note: I think this development is new, but you are correct about the location, it will be pretty close to where the Parr/Manuel condo/apts are located.
I know who owns the quadplex and they have nothing to do with the affordable housing project. The quadplex is being used for short term vacation rentals.
I guess I could leave a reply later when there are some more details. But I know this conundrum – affordable housing for the less fortunate/blue collar types – has been brewing for a while. I wish there were some magic bullet to solve it, besides a developer wanting to lose their shirt. The cost to build is the cost to build. And the only way to get your money back is to figure out a unit cost basis based on the total expenditures, which include the amenities as well as the infrastructure needed to supply whatever is needed/wanted (utilities, parking, etc.).
The only way there is going to be anything close to truly affordable housing with the current cost expenditure environment is to substantially increase the land densities (ie, more units per acre) and reduce the quality to bare necessities. I know this isn’t what anyone wants to have thrust into their comfortable place of living but to me the best idea for truly affordable housing moving forward is re-purposing shipping crates. You would have to have quite a lot of organization to pull off an entire community and keeping it safe (to keep the transient population limited). But if you expect a developer to deliver any product that makes them go broke then you will be waiting for a LONG time.
Sorry for the sobering news. I do hope the Town considers what has to take place going forward.
WHY are you sorry for speaking truth to power?
If speaking truth to power makes you feel sorry for speaking, wouldn’t staying silent be the better alternative for your mental health?
I have been hearing about “affordable” housing for years.
So what is it?
What does “affordable” actually mean?
And to whom are these to be “affordable?”
Nobody seems to know, starting with Mr. Hozey, who tells us the size and number of units are not known at this time, so that the Mirror will have to gather more details as they become available.
As you say, the cost to build is the cost to build.
So what exactly is to be built to keep it “affordable” for someone?
And buying a house is only the first step.
Maintaining the house is the bigger issue.
Does “affordable” mean do the roof as cheap as possible, so ten years down the road, or maybe less, a new roof is needed?
El Cheapo siding that blows off in a stiff breeze?
An eighth of an acre with no paved driveway, and no basement, just a slab on grade?
The most affordable housing these days seems to be what are in essence modified “sheep wagons” that the sheep herders used to live in when the sheep were on the range, or a box for a double-wide refrigerator which is plenty for a family of four to sleep in.
Or a large amount of subsidies will be paid to the developer/builder.
i have heard that the owners of the Sea Breeze apartments in the north of town can’t sell the land it until they find a place to put the people who live there. Could this perhaps be a part of that? i would certainly hope so
Not true. They can sell. No one wants to pay their price because it has been neglected in many repairs for years. It was up to code when it was built, but it would not be “cost effective” for a new owner. Believe me, they have been trying to sell. The company who owns it doesn’t like to pay their bills. If anyone doesn’t know, liens go with the property, not the owner. If you buy it, you assume the debts
A very good point!
‘/workforce housing’ ?
I guess he would like a few servants to dwell in those lesser homes.
Dixie-Rats one and all.
What the hell is affordable housing, every house in Cape Charles is affordable for some people. Without further explanation affordable housing is meaningless.