Culver Delays Grant Application for Affordable Housing Project

culver town hall
 

The Town of Culver’s plans for affordable housing will have to wait another year.

Town Manager Jonathan Leist says there’s too much work that still needs to be done before next month’s deadline to apply for state funding, “Looking at all the things that needed to be done, we did decide to hold off on an application for this year and keep working at it at the same site with the same targeted budget, but any application for state funding would be coming in next November, not this November.” He says he wants to make sure all the work’s done correctly, rather than rushing it to start the project as soon as possible.

This change in plans is forcing some other town boards to make their own adjustments to make sure they don’t have to start the process all over again next year. The Culver Redevelopment Commission had provided $200,000 to the project to help bring utilities to the proposed site or to help purchase the property, but it was done with the understanding that the town would apply for state funding this year. Additionally, the Board of Zoning Appeals had planned to meet next week to consider granting a special use permit for the project. However, that permit would expire after a year.

Last month, the Culver Town Council had recommended a site at West Jefferson Street and State Road 17 for the new housing. The project’s designed to make it easier for workers at Culver’s major employers to live in the town.