wELCOME TO The Sharon Housing Trust! Sharon, Connecticut

The community center lease/option is approved!

An application for a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG)has also been submitted.

SHARON, CT, June 2024: On Thursday, June 13th at a town meeting, residents overwhelmingly approved allowing the Board of Selectmen to enter into a Lease/Option agreement with The Sharon Housing Trust. Also, a motion to permit the Board of Selectmen to negotiate and enter into the formal Lease Agreement within 12-15 months was approved. These steps allows the Sharon Housing Trust to have site control of the property, permitting the Trust to act on obtaining State of Connecticut Department of Housing funds for the creation of 4 additional 2-bedroom apartments in the historic building!

Also, the Town of Sharon submitted an application for a Community Development Block Grant to provide the Trust funding to coordinate the creation the project.

The Trust welcomes your comments and thoughts! To make contact with the Trust directly, please e-mail shtct2024@gmail.com or call 860-480-8957.

We are the beneficiary of a $50,000 matching Grant!

SHARON, CT, JANUARY 2024: The Sharon Housing Trust has been awarded a $50,000 matching grant to help it begin needed repairs at 91, 93 and 95 North Main Street in Sharon, where the Trust owns six affordable housing units across three neighboring buildings. The matching aspect of the grant will help promote community response to the Trust’s ongoing appeals for funding.

A local Sharon-based foundation is the generous benefactor. The Low Road Foundation will match each donation made to the Trust by other persons through December 31, 2024, up to a total of $50,000. The funds will be used to pay for initial, priority repairs to all three buildings. If the Trust can raise enough money to match all of the offered grant, it will benefit from a total of $100,000 in donations in the aggregate. The repairs to the three buildings are needed as a prelude to the Trust’s application to the Connecticut Department of Housing for additional funds to upgrade the structures and maintain them as workforce housing.

The Trust is conducting ongoing appeals for community support to help keep the six apartments at 91, 93 and 95 North Main Street affordable, sustainable and in good repair.

The Sharon Housing Trust website (www.shtct.org) contains additional information about the Trust and its future plans. There is also a sign-up for further information updates, as well as a portal to accept donations through either GoFundMe or PayPal. Please consider supporting the Trust in its mission to provide housing solutions for Sharon’s workforce, for young people eager to gain a toehold in Sharon, and for downsizing families seeking to find affordable accommodations in our vibrant community!

To make contact with the Trust directly, please e-mail shtct2024@gmail.com or call 860-480-8957.

About Us

We are all Volunteers!

The Sharon Housing Trust is comprised of a group of volunteers who came together in 2022 to aid the town of Sharon, Connecticut in creating it's state-mandated affordable housing plan. Members of the original Trust from 2005 are also volunteering!

Our history

The original Sharon Housing Trust was founded in 2005, and was able to create a single family home on their own, and another in conjunction with Habitat for Humanity of Northwest Connecticut. A 501c3 nonprofit, we are completely reliant on community support.

Our mission

The Sharon Housing Trust is dedicated to increasing the availability of affordable housing in one of the least affordable regions in Connecticut.

2023 recap

Our year in review!

Informational Session at the Bok Gallery

The Community Center

Winter - 2023/2024

Dear friends and neighbors –

As we prepare to put 2023 behind us, the Board of the Sharon Housing Trust wants to extend a heartfelt “thanks!” to all those individuals in service to our community who have been instrumental in the Trust’s accomplishments this year. Without the efforts of the Board of Selectmen, The Planning and Zoning Commission, the Sharon Sewer and Water Commission, the Sharon Building and Zoning Department and the Sharon Historic Commission, these efforts would likely not have come to pass. All of these organizations recognize the strong link between housing solutions for all residents and community vitality, and their dedication to community health is essential to our progress.

The Community Center

Informational Session at the Bok Gallery

The Community Center

Late 2022 and early 2023 saw the Trust focus on the Town-owned Community Center adjacent to Sharon Center School. After many months of discussion with various Sharon entities, the process to allow the Trust to move forward with converting the Community Center into four apartments in a cooperative and sensitive way is concluding. The Trust hopes to be able to obtain site control in early 2024, and can then begin the work needed to obtain final construction approvals.

Informational Session at the Bok Gallery

2023 began with the Sharon Housing Trust, in conjunction with the Litchfield County Center for Housing Opportunities (LCCHO) and The Foundation from Community Health (FCH) holding an informational session at the Bok Gallery at the Sharon Playhouse. The purpose was to discuss the Town of Sharon Affordable Housing Plan with community members, and to review opportunities for workforce housing expansion. The meeting was well attended, and the consensus was to move forward as expeditiously as possible. The Community Center project was presented as a potential opportunity.

91, 93, 95 North Main Street

Community Support for our Mission

Informational Session at the Bok Gallery

In February of 2023, a new opportunity arose, made possible by the very generous support of local individuals. On July 1, 2023, the Sharon Housing Trust became the owners of a six unit apartment complex at 91, 93 & 95 N. Main Street. This property is also adjacent to Sharon Center School as well as the former Community Center.

The work to determine the needed repairs and renovation of these three buildings is taking place in earnest. Inspections have been done, and a scope of work has been developed. NBT Bank has provided a grant for high priority work, and fundraising activities are progressing. Applications are also being completed for funding from the Connecticut Department of Housing for needed projects. The Trust is grateful to David Berto of Housing Enterprises, Inc. as well as Jocelyn Ayer of the LCCHO for their aid in guiding the way through the myriad state channels for funding housing development. These are real heroes making sure the state’s commitment to fund workforce housing solutions flows into Litchfield County.

Community Support for our Mission

In early December, 2023, The Sharon Housing Trust received an extraordinarily generous grant from NBT Bank! NBT Bank supports many of the region's affordable housing non-profits as they are also committed to community health and vitality. We look forward to a long partnership.

We are also grateful to the Hotchkiss Library here in Sharon for allowing the Board to use the Community Programming Room to hold its meetings.

The renovated facilities are beautiful, and if you haven't visited the library since its reopening, you will be amazed at what a dedicated community has been able to accomplish!

What to look forward to in 2024

Community Support for our Mission

2024 will be a very exciting year!

Limited only by our resources, the Trust will move to rehabilitate and create housing the Community can be proud of, and aid in relieving the lack of affordable housing in Sharon.

We ask for your support in whatever fashion it may take. Time is treasure as well, and there’s always a lot to be done.

Consider getting involved as a Board member or as a Committee member. We'd love to hear why you would like to help make a difference. Donations are also always welcome and acknowledged!