Growing Together CT

Why we came together

Connecticut lacks housing that allows families at all incomes to thrive, and too many communities are held back by disinvestment and a lack of equitable housing policies. Growing Together CT actively works to generate more housing choices everywhere and partners with under-resourced communities as they combat poverty and work toward equity. Together, these combined strategies will create a stronger, more environmentally sustainable, and equitable Connecticut.

This vision is realized through:

  • Fair Share Planning & Zoning that positions each town in CT to lay the groundwork for positive housing growth that is responsive to the need.
  • The Housing Growth Fund, $50 million in community-guided investments in municipalities that contribute to meeting housing needs.
  • Tenant Protections and Housing Investments that support renters.

How It Works

Housing Growth Fund

The Housing Growth Fund invests in these areas to ensure that they have the resources to thrive. The Housing Growth Fund will contribute to this by allocating $50 million to be invested by municipalities that are creating housing to meet their vision for the future.

MORE ON HOUSING GROWTH FUND

 

Tenant Protections and Investments

Protect tenants and invest in housing affordability.

MORE ON TENANT PROTECTIONS

Fair Share Planning & Zoning

Establish a process in which each town guides its own path in planning and zoning for its fair share of affordable housing. Such a process should include:

  • Step 1: Determine the need for affordable housing
  • Step 2: Allocate the regional need to towns in a fair way
  • Step 3: Empower towns to develop their own plans
  • Step 4: Design incentives & enforcement

MORE ON FAIR SHARE

Shanay

Fulton

"I know from personal experience how hard it can be to reach your potential when structural obstacles are in your way. Our goal should be to make every part of Connecticut a place of opportunity where children and families can thrive."

By the Numbers

370,000

Struggling Families

Far too many families are spending more than 30% of their income on housing

137,304

New Affordable Homes

Our conservative estimate of the number of affordable housing units that Connecticut needs is based on the number of extremely low income, severely cost-burdened households

Over 200k

New Homes Over 10 years

Fair Share Housing will lead to hundreds of thousands of new homes (both affordable and market-rate), meaning more housing choices, more neighborhood revitalization, and more thriving communities

$56 Billion

Windfall

Enabling these new homes will create $47 billion in income for Connecticut residents and $9.6 billion in state and local tax revenue over 10 years

63,000

Jobs

Employers big and small will get a much-needed boost as we invest in building neighborhoods that work for everyone, resulting in tens of thousands of new jobs

Take Action

Estela

Lopez

"A thriving community creates more opportunities for everyone. Better schools, more jobs, and wider horizons for the future. Together, we can empower families with more choices about where they live so every child in Connecticut can grow up in a healthy, thriving, and vibrant community."

News

Lack of affordable housing causing longer shelter stays for homeless, CT advocates say

Ginny Monk | CT Mirror

In the nearly eight months Christiana Anderson has been staying at a New London shelter, there were a few times she thought she’d found an apartment for herself and her teenage son.

But each time, the option fell through.

Anderson lost her housing in January,...

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Smaller towns are not helping solve CT’s housing crisis

Dan Smolnik | CT Mirror

The acuity of the state’s housing shortage bears repetition. We need 89,000 affordable homes immediately.

The inventory of active real estate listings has declined 79% –from 18,610 in June of 2018 to 10,228 in 2020, to 3,932 in 2023 while the state’s population has increased...

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New Jersey report highlights impacts of bill proposed in CT

Ginny Monk | CT Mirror

A new report from a New Jersey agency outlines how a state policy that requires towns to provide their “fair share” of the regional need for affordable housing has worked to double the rate of affordable housing production, ramp up the number of multi-family dwellings...

Read More