Fact: Affordable housing must comply with the same zoning, construction, and habitability standards as market-rate housing and often supports or improves the neighborhood’s architectural character, scale and aesthetics.

Fact: Shelterforce magazine (2013) analyzed dozens of studies on the effect of affordable housing on property values. They found that affordable housing developments generally do not have negative impacts on property values. On the contrary, these developments can often raise nearby home values by supporting or enhancing existing neighborhood character, scale, and aesthetics. Furthermore, affordable housing plays a crucial role in creating jobs and stimulating local economic development, raising the quality of life for the entire community (Center for Housing Policy 2011).

Fact: People who live in or hope to find affordable housing are already a part of Princeton. They are crucial members of our community such as teachers, police officers, firefighters, health care workers, service staff in grocery stores and restaurants. In Princeton, approximately 40% of the residents have annual incomes that qualify them for affordable housing. This includes senior citizens on fixed incomes and families with low to moderate wage jobs. However, less than 12% of our housing is deed restricted as “affordable.”

Fact: Affordable housing benefits the whole community by boosting the local economy and supporting the entry-level, public service-sector professionals. Unaffordable housing negatively affects employment growth. Addressing the housing crisis means not just helping the poor but working with the business community and the local community to ensure that those who work in Princeton have the opportunity to live here. Click here to learn about a few current residents at PCH.

Fact: Well-constructed and designed affordable housing has been shown not to burden local municipalities (Robitaille & Bratt 2012).Concerns about the quality of life are often unfounded or addressed in the planning process. Affordable housing actively contributes to the local economy in taxes paid and, in the money, earned by residents through stable employment, which is spent locally. The bulk of PCH’s annual revenue comes from the affordable rental income paid by tenants and federal (not state or local) funds that help to subsidize this affordable housing. Additionally, PCH properties make a Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) to the local municipality. Click here to see our 2020 annual report for more information on how we use our finances.

Fact: Affordable housing increases children’s opportunities for success in school as their families have greater financial stability and live in a safe, nurturing environment (Center for Housing Policy 2014) When there are local affordable housing options, schools can attract and retain quality teachers and staff that are able to live in the town where they work. Affordable housing results in a higher quality educational experience for the whole community due to a more diverse body of students and teachers.

Fact: Affordable housing increases safety and stability as families can raise their children in an environment with enhanced neighborhood cohesion and economic wellbeing. Crime rates tend to decline in more walkable, compact, mixed urban neighborhoods (Victoria Transport Policy Institute 2021). As lower-income income households move into more mixed-income neighborhoods, their employment, educational, and economic opportunities increase. People who have the opportunity to live in stable, affordable homes, like PCH’s communities, are motivated to be part of a safe and welcoming community.

Fact: When more people can afford to live in the town in which they work, traffic and congestion are diminished, and air pollution is decreased. PCH’s new property at Princeton Community Village exceeds Enterprise Green standards. It features environmentally friendly features such as electric vehicle parking, all-electric heating and cooling, energy-efficient building systems, sustainable building materials and methods, stormwater management, and native landscaping.