HOWARD COUNTY, Md. — Howard County, Maryland, plans to purchase a vacant business and convert multiple properties into mixed-income housing, with about 30% of homes priced below the area average.
Howard County is moving forward with a plan to add nearly 60 mixed-income homes in Laurel as more than 6,000 households in the county struggle to find affordable housing.
The county will purchase a vacant business at the corner of Route 1 and Whiskey Bottom Road. Combined with an antique store and a former mobile home park the county already owns nearby, the properties will be converted into the new mixed-income development.
About 30% of the homes will be priced around $300,000 — well below the roughly $500,000 average home price in the area.
County Executive Calvin Ball said the need is urgent.
"These are working families...older adults on fixed incomes...our teachers, our nurses...our first responders and service workers who make our community function and thrive each and every day. And they deserve a place to live in the community in which they serve," Ball said.
Ball also announced a proposal to change how the county funds affordable housing projects. He has introduced an amendment that would allow the county to use bonds to help pay for the developments — the same financing method the county uses for schools and roads.
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