Stephanie Weaver
The Cumberland Times-News Fri Aug 05, 2011, 10:56 PM EDT
— OAKLAND — Offering a new option for members of Garrett County’s work force, the state’s top housing official said, “this is not just about dollars and cents” at the grand opening and dedication of Liberty Mews townhomes.
“We are celebrating 36 new families in your community,” Ray Skinner, secretary of Maryland Housing and Community Development, said.
However, the project started with a last-minute hunt for funding, according to Duane Yoder, president of the Garrett County Community Action Committee.
The group went to Skinner for help after being denied funds from other sources who “didn’t do rural projects.”
Skinner said he could aid the project if “they broke ground in less than 30 days and were completed in two years.”
His solution was economic stimulus money. “Stimulus money made it happen,” he said.
According to Yoder, the group got to work right away. The two-year construction project “help-ed economic development di-rectly,” and Skinner estimates that $10 million went back into the county.
Liberty Mews, located on Mews Crescent Drive, is comprised of 36 townhomes for the low-income work force. It’s part of an even bigger project called River Hill, an entire development of affordable housing for the county just a walk away from the center of Oakland.
“Housing is such a visible part of our community,” Lowell Bender, a member of the Garrett County Community Action Committee Board said, when driving around the town.
Skinner saw a need for affordable housing given the “income level and high unemployment” in Garrett County. Affordable housing for the work force is a big part of the county’s economic development plan, according to Yoder.
“I don’t know if you’ll ever have enough,” he said.
He and Community Action have been working on the project for about 15 years, including other affordable housing called the Yough and the Glades. The grand opening of Liberty Mews marked the 15th anniversary of the Glades.
“We keep going ahead,” he said, also stating that he didn’t know if he could take 15 more years of it.
Devlin Inc. of Pittsburgh constructed the 12 buildings that contain 10 two-bedroom and 26 three-bedroom townhomes. All models have Energy Star appliances and lighting, garages and private porches or terraces.
“I’m really pleased with the project,” previous Mayor Asa McCain said.
Townhome applications are being accepted by Community Action.
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