Goshen
Housing News
The Newsletter of Goshen Housing Trust, Inc. -- March 2020
Goshen, Connecticut - Land of Milk and Honey
Goshen Housing Trust
Starts Year With Great News
It has been a quiet winter, but the Goshen Housing Trust (GHT) has been hard at work on its project to acquire the Village Marketplace and improve it as a center for living and commerce in Goshen. 

We began the year with terrific news on project funding.  As previously reported, our plan is to raise $1 million in grant funds to pay for renovations and upgrades to the residential units at Village Marketplace. It is important that we do this work with grant funds that do not need to be repaid to help keep the rents affordable. Just before the holidays, we received word that we were awarded a $500,000 grant from the privately-funded Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston. This was a very competitive grant; GHT is one of only 4 recipients in the State of Connecticut for 2020. 

We continue to work to raise the remaining funds needed and are optimistic that we will be able to proceed with closing on the purchase of Village Marketplace on-schedule, sometime early this summer.

In the meantime, a team of professionals has begun to develop plans for the renovations.

To stay informed, join our mailing list at " GoshenHousingTrust.org" or by clicking button below.
Working With The Community
The Goshen Village Marketplace (GVM) is a unique, multidimensional location in our Town. It contains 17 residential housing units that are home for some of our Town's citizens. It also contains the largest concentration of commercial real estate in our town. Finally, the complex has over 20 acres of land.

The potential to develop GVM into a location that plays an important role as one of the focal points of our Town is significant. The GHT feels that its mission with GVM goes beyond addressing the Town's housing needs to fully developing this potential.

GHT has formed a Community Engagement Committee to work on how we communicate our plans better and, most importantly, to interact with and listen to ideas from the community.  Dawn Wicks and Marty Harris are spearheading this effort with involvement from the entire Board.

Our plans for 2020 include:

  • Issue a quarterly Housing Newsletter on our plans, like this one. Anyone can sign up to receive our newsletter at "GoshenHousingTrust.org"

  • Our website and each newsletter will solicit suggestions for how GHT’s project can serve the community better. As one example, at the recent Goshen Business Circle Holiday meeting we heard several great ideas for showcasing local artists with space for exhibiting their work.  We will respond to each suggestion individually and maintain a “Great Ideas Wish List” to help guide our on-going plans.

  • We will hold an annual Information Meeting to discuss not only our projects but the issues of housing and our Town with all who are interested. Other sessions will be added on specific topics in response to community interest. Our 2020 meeting will be held on July 18th, about a year after our first meeting. So, Save the Date!

  • We will reach out to other Goshen community groups and organizations proactively to explore how we might work together to the Town’s benefit.   Among the groups we hope to connect with are the new Economic Development Commission, the Goshen Land Trust, the Community Care & Hospice, the Good Neighbor Fund, the Goshen Business Circle, our local churches, and more.

We look forward to communicating our plans, working with the many groups in town, and listening to the community.
GHT Adds New Director to Board
We began the year with the addition of a new director to our Board. We are very pleased that Martha Harris, better known to most of you as Marty, joined as our ninth board member in January. 

She expressed an interest in our mission last year and asked about joining to help. Marty and her family have resided in Goshen for 25 years.  She has worked with the Tyler Lake community on their efforts to maintain the quality of their lake.

Her volunteer spirit and strong sense of the Goshen community will be a great addition.
Celebrate The Work of Goshen's
Volunteer Non-Profit Groups
GHT wants to remind everyone that volunteers make our Town work! 

The Connecticut Community Foundation’s (CCF) annual GiveLocal online giving days are being held April 21 st and 22 nd . It is an important way to support ALL the community non-profits that make this possible.

Most of our Town's non-profit groups will participate. Your donations will be enhanced with bonus amounts added by the CCF and awards for various milestones by Sponsors.

While GHT is doing a financially large project for our Town, most of the funds we use for this are designated for specific aspects of the project. GHT still needs unrestricted funds to support things like our operations and efforts to keep the community informed and to be able to implement some of the “Great Ideas Wish List”. 

We hope you will include GHT in your GiveLocal giving this year along with the many other local groups that make Goshen a special place.  
Visit our website at http://www.GoshenHousingTrust.org
We appreciate any support of our effort you may choose to provide.
Thank you.
Goshen Housing Trust, Inc. is a 501c3 charity and donations
may be tax deductible under IRS and/or State regulations.
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