Affordable Housing for Veterans?

A Connecticut-based group is seeking to build a new 24-unit condominium complex along Route 80 in East Haven that would offer affordable housing to the nation's returning veterans.

Hereos Village, a socially conscious for-profit company, currently is looking to build a series of "affordable, state of the art, 'green,' customizable homes," according to the organization's website.

And the group has set its sights on building one of those communities for veterans in .

Heroes Village has proposed the construction of a 24-unit, multi-family residential affordable housing development at 142 and 150 Foxon Road.

Each condominium would have two bedrooms and two bathrooms (an exterior rendering and interior floor plans have been posted in the gallery that accompanies this article).

Public Hearing on Feb. 1

A public hearing on the proposed affordable housing project will be held at the commission's next regularly scheduled meeting on Feb. 1

The public hearing's date was originally set for the commission's meeting on Wednesday earlier this week.

But the veterans group sent a Jan. 3 letter to the town requesting the hearing be delayed "due to the illness of an important member of the Heroes Village East Haven team" (the letter is posted in the gallery).

Planners unanimously granted that request at Tuesday's meeting.

Plans Submitted to Town in November

The site plans for the project — along with a text change application to introduce a Planned Residential Affordable Development District (PADD) Regulation at Foxon Road site — were submitted to the Planning & Zoning Commission on Nov. 2, 2011 (meeting agenda is posted in the gallery).

Heroes Village officials reported on their website they expect to break ground on the East Haven project next month.

Other current projects by Heroes Villages are located in Rocky Hill and Meriden, with the group looking at another Foxon Road location and other future locations are also being considered. 

According to Heroes Village, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has said 90,000 affordable housing homes are needed for returning soldiers, and Heroes Villages, LLC. is projected to build 30,000 units nationwide by 2015.

'Built By Veterans for Veterans'

In addition to creating affordable housing for returning soldiers, the organization also intends to employ veterans to help design and build each housing facility.

"Wherever possible we will hire veterans to build these communities and we will build these dignified homes for our veterans with American materials and equipment.  It is time we got America working again," the group states on its website.

"Our development team consists of decorated veterans, real estate, architectural and construction professionals and many others who share the vision of Heroes Village," Heroes officials stated. "The U.S. Veterans Administration as well as prominent politicians and numerous distinguished businessmen and women are highly supportive of this bold new initiative to house our heroic veterans."

(Editor's note: This article was edited at 5:25 p.m. on Friday to correct the lead paragraph, which erronously referred to Heroes Village as a "nonprofit" company. The group is, in fact, a socially conscious, for-profit limited liability company. East Haven Patch regrets the error.)