MILLINGTON — There’s been a ceremonial groundbreaking, all the permits have been issued and currently pieces of heavy equipment are moving dirt as work begins in earnest to bring affordable senior housing to the area.
“It’s full steam ahead,” Millington Town Administrator Elizabeth “Jo” Manning said in a recent interview in her office in town hall.
The tentative completion date is this fall, with occupancy in January 2026.
Millington Village will consist of 52 senior living units — nine buildings in all — on two of the six parcels that make up what was once Millington Elementary School, a 24-acre site that the town purchased for $1 from Kent County in December 2022.
There will be 16 units in what has been designated as Parcel 1, on the south side of the shuttered school building and near the water tower, and the remaining 36 units in Parcel 3, which is on the north side of the building and adjacent to the ball field.
Parcel 2 is the former school building.
Easton-based Willow Construction is the general contractor.
David A. Bramble Inc. of Chestertown is doing the horizontal infrastructure, i.e., water, sewer, streets and sidewalks.
It’s a roughly $17 million project.
Most of the funding has come from state agencies, such as the Community Development Block Grant Program, Rural Maryland Economic Development Fund and the Department of Housing and Community Development.
According to Manning, the Town of Millington has contributed about $1.5 million when you total up the value of the land, town staff’s time, and waiving permit and allocation fees.
“The town had to show its investment without out-of-pocket money,” Manning said.
Also, developer Home Partnership Inc. has contributed to the funding. Frank Hodgetts is president and CEO of Home Partnership Inc.
Home Partnership Inc. is a 501(c) nonprofit located in Joppatowne that has done a 77-unit project in North East, a 53-unit project in Perryville and another 53-unit project in Cecil County — among others.
They have created a limited liability company similar to their projects in Cecilton, Perryville and Elkton to manage Millington Village, according to Manning
The first shovels of dirt were turned Dec. 3 during the ceremonial groundbreaking that included Millington Mayor Kevin Hemstock, County Commissioners Ron Fithian, John Price and Albert Nickerson, and Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development Secretary Jake Day.
On Feb. 10, the Town of Millington issued a Notice to Proceed for the portion of the project that was funded by a CDBG grant of $800,000.
Meantime, Home Partnership Inc. issued a Notice to Proceed for the remaining state agencies and private investors.
There are tangible signs that the project is a go; silt fences, piping, vaults and junction boxes already are on-site.
In an email to The Evening Enterprise, Mayor Hemstock said: “I’m so excited about the senior housing development — work has begun! We’ve been working on this for more than a decade. It’s been a long road with bumps along the way. Now that it’s moving forward we can watch a new era for the town to grow on the repurposed former school site. It’ll be a boon to the town and county and to the folks we serve. … It also demonstrates that Millington is growing and there’s lots more to come. Stay tuned.”
Hemstock noted that the project would not have moved forward without the help of the Kent County Commissioners, the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development “and lots of others.”
The county commissioners reallocated previously approved $1.5 million from the Rural Maryland Economic Development Fund to the senior housing project in Millington, according to Manning.
The project will be subject to the rules and regulations of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the majority of tenants will have to meet HUD standards, according to Manning.
Based on tenants’ income, rent will run from $400 to $1,400 — which will include all utilities.
There will be one- and two-bedroom units, all on one floor.
Manning said she already has a list of about 35 people who are interested in renting; most of them are Kent County residents or those who moved away and want to return. There are a few from Queen Anne’s and Cecil counties too.
Millington or Kent County residency is not a requirement. In fact, there is no residency requirement, Manning said.
Home Partnership Inc. will lease the property from the town for $1 a year for a minimum of 40 years, according to Manning.
When the project is “substantially complete” — the target date is September — the management company will announce that they are accepting applications and start screening per income guidelines.
The Town of Millington began exploring senior housing as early as 2012 and had a concept plan in 2013 — before Frank Hodgetts’ involvement.
In 2018, the town signed a development services agreement with Home Partnership Inc. That’s when the plan was to build a minimum of 14 senior affordable housing units on 2 acres that the town owned (and still owns) on Carville Drive in the Mill Village subdivision.
Ultimately the state turned down the application, Manning said, because the project was deemed not to be large enough.
That’s when Manning started sizing up the former Millington Elementary School site as an option.
The county in May 2019 had officially taken ownership of the property, nearly two years after MES was shuttered as part of school consolidation and subsequently declared surplus.
The property was annexed into town limits in 2022.
Millington Village “is a long time coming,” Manning said Feb. 19 in the interview in her office. “And I hope it’s something that continues, that it’s the template across the county because there is such a need for senior housing.”
According to Manning, the plan for the former school building is to become a community resource center. The 30,000-plus square-foot structure was built in 1974. Among its amenities is a commercial kitchen.
Already, the Kent County Sheriff’s Office is using a small space for a substation.
Manning said she has letters of intent from a pre-K daycare and the Crumpton-Millington food bank to lease out space.
Manning said space could be rented by anyone in the county for uses as varied as public meetings and social events.
