HONESDALE, PA — Work underway to address Wayne County's housing crisis could bring a 42-unit apartment complex to Honesdale within the next few years. 

United Neighborhood Centers of Northeastern PA (UNC) has proposed the complex, which it calls Timber Mill Commons. If funded and approved, it will be built off of Commercial Street on land currently occupied by a Dirlam Brothers Lumber Company lumber yard. 

The development would serve Wayne County’s need for affordable housing. 

In Wayne, median home prices increased 60% between 2017 and 2022, from $159,000 to $254,000, while household income remained stagnant across that same period, according to a five-year study of the county’s housing market by Wayne Tomorrow! Click here for more on that study. 

Housing task force co-chair Heather Mizler told the River Reporter that, to implement the study's recommendations, the task force would be looping in banks, local developers and real estate agents. 

One of the partners in this effort is UNC. The organization is a non-profit founded in 1923 to empower residents of Northeast PA and to build stronger communities. It helps with child care, seniors assistance and food pantries, among its other areas of work. 

Since 2008, UNC has worked on building its own portfolio of affordable housing units, having identified housing as a crucial need it wanted to meet. 

"We see a couple thousand people every year in all of our various programs and really, we just got sick of this need that we got over and over again for housing," said UNC President Lisa Durkin. "So we decided to just sort of take matters in our own hands and build some more."

UNC has developed 359 units; the non-profit model it uses means it continues to own and operate the housing developments after they're built. 

Wayne County's housing task force approached UNC around three years ago, said Durkin. The task force told UNC it was struggling to meet the area's need for affordable housing, and UNC saw an opportunity to help.

"Honesdale, Wayne County is not unique in that regard," said Duekin. "So many communities are facing a housing crisis throughout the state, throughout the nation right now—but Wayne County is one of them."

A tentative plan shows where the buildings will be located, with the four residential buildings in gray near the packing lot on the lower side of the map, and the community center near the parking lot on the upper side of the map.

Lisa Durkin, president and CEO of United Neighborhood Centers of Northeastern Pennsylvania, speaks about the nonprofits intended plans for Honesdale.

Martin Fotta, chief operating officer with United Neighborhood Centerf of Northeastern Pennsylvania, speaks about the nonprofit's intended plans for Honesdale.

A room full of Honesdale residents showed up to hear about the proposal.

One of the engineers on Timber Mill Commons, pictured, stands with the conceptual plan.

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Timber Mill Commons

Together with Wayne County partners, UNC has spent the past three years evaluating sites and making plans for a housing development in Honesdale. 

On Wednesday, May 15, UNC presented tentative plans for its proposed development at a public meeting. 

The development plan consists of four residential buildings and one community building. It will have a total of 42 apartments: 14 one-bedroom apartments, 18 two-bedroom and 10 three-bedroom. Nine of the apartments will be handicap accessible. 

While the project would not be publicly subsidized housing, rents would be set below market rates. Joy Hubshman, UNC Director of Community Housing Development, said a two-bedroom apartment would go for $946 a month. 

The residential buildings will all be three-story walk-ups, said Hubshman. She said the goal with the development is to have the buildings blend into the character of the neighborhood, rather than sticking out the way a five or six-story building would. 

In addition to managing the property, UNC would provide residents with help in connecting to Wayne County's network of social services. An on-site services coordinator will be available to help connect residents to public transportation, budgeting services and more, with the goal of helping them remain stably housed, said Martin Fotta, UNC Chief Operating Officer. 

Most of the lumber-yard buildings on the property would be razed, as well as a to-be-determined amount of the surrounding forest. However, Dirlam Brothers will keep the Designer Kitchens showroom at the front of the property. 

The new construction will address stormwater issues by including a tank under the parking lot, which will take in rainwater and let it out slowly over time. This will reduce the sudden flows that happen during major storm events, and is a timely aspect of the plan, with recent flooding in Honesdale after a storm on Tuesday, May 6. Click here for flood coverage.

St. John's Church, just across the street from the planned development, suffered significant damage as a result of the May 6 storm.

Fotta said the project team was aware of the stormwater issues in the area. They didn't want to add to any water issues with the area, he said, adding that the project's engineers will work to ensure that no additional flow comes off the property compared to what's there now.