New Haven, Connecticut, to Be Home to Second Affordable Housing Project Using Wood in the US

Construction is underway in New Haven, Connecticut, on the second affordable housing project in the US that will substitute wood in place of steel and concrete, according to reporting by WBUR (5-15-23). The 69-unit, two building complex will use mass timber that reduced the amount of CO2 emissions during construction.

The project is a partnership between the City of New Haven, Beulah Land Development Corporation, and Spiritos Properties, a New York-based construction company known for its work in mass timber construction.

WBUR says the project is being built on a long-vacant lot and is the first mass timber affordable housing project on the East Coast and the first to be funded using federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC). Sacramento, California, is the home of the only other affordable housing apartment building in the country that was constructed using the mass timber method.

Of the building’s 69 apartments, 55 will be for low-income residents earning 60% or below the average median income. In addition, 20 units will be reserved for people experiencing homelessness.

Groundbreaking took place in August 2022, with plans for the building to occupant ready in early 2024.