The Affordable Housing Alliance of Connecticut was selected in 2014 as the lead member of the technical assistance team that is providing a range of technical assistance to Connecticut’s Limited Equity Cooperatives (LECs). We have partnered with consultants Luisa (Lucha) Peschiera-Odell and Larry Kluetsch to work with up to 20 LEC communities throughout the state.
LECs are a unique affordable housing model that is a hybrid between rental and homeownership. LEC members have many of the decision-making responsibilities required in homeownership and receive a limited equity return from resale when they leave. LECs are corporations in which residents have a “share” ownership of the real estate, and must work together to reach mutual goals based on democratic control and decision-making. LEC resident members typically (but not always) undertake many of the traditional tasks of property management to control operational carrying costs.
Most of the state-sponsored LECs have been in operation for over 20 years and most are in need of substantial capital rehabilitation. The Connecticut Housing Coalition technical assistance team will be assisting each LEC to, among other things, assemble a development team in order to pursue pre-development, critical needs, and capital funding.
For more information, contact Florence Villano at florence@ct-housing.org or 860-563-2943 x12.