By Gary Bennett and Mary Ellen Mitchell
Affordable housing is a topic that touches nearly every corner of our community, yet it’s often misunderstood. Before looking ahead to what’s coming in Frederick County, it helps to clearly understand what affordable housing is—and what it is not—and why it plays such a critical role in our local economy and quality of life.
What Affordable Housing Is—and Isn’t
Affordable housing is frequently confused with public housing or housing reserved only for people with very low incomes. Those options represent just one small segment of the broader affordable housing landscape. Affordable housing serves people across a wide range of incomes, especially working households who are essential to keeping Frederick County vibrant and functional.
Housing is generally considered affordable when a household spends no more than 30 percent of its gross income on housing costs. When housing expenses exceed that threshold, families become “cost-burdened,” leaving less room in their budgets for food, transportation, healthcare, childcare, and savings.
One group most impacted by the housing shortage is often referred to as the “missing middle.” These are teachers, healthcare workers, restaurant staff, first responders, retail workers, and others whose incomes are too high to qualify for many assistance programs but too low to comfortably afford today’s housing prices. As home prices, rents, and interest rates rise, these workers are increasingly priced out of the communities where they work.
So why don’t we just build more modestly priced homes?
The answer is complicated. Land costs have risen dramatically, construction labor and materials are more expensive, and regulatory requirements continue to add to development costs. Zoning policies that favor single-family homes over townhomes, apartments, and smaller units further limit housing choices. Without some form of public-private partnership, it’s extremely difficult to for developers to produce homes at a reasonable profit that working households can realistically afford.
How Communities Increase Affordable Housing
There are two primary approaches to addressing housing shortages.
One approach relies entirely on the private market, assuming high prices will eventually cool demand and bring costs down. While this theory works in some sectors of the economy, housing markets can take years—or decades—to rebalance, leaving families struggling in the meantime.
The second approach uses a combination of policies, incentives, and partnerships to encourage the creation of more attainable housing more quickly. Frederick County and the City of Frederick have largely embraced this strategy.
Some of the most effective tools include:
- Moderately Priced Dwelling Unit (MPDU) policies, which require a portion of homes in new developments to be offered at more attainable price points or allow developers to contribute fees that support affordable housing elsewhere.
- Fee waivers, such as reduced or eliminated impact fees for developments that include affordable units.
- Public land partnerships, where county- or city-owned land is used to lower development costs.
- More efficient review processes, helping bring housing to market faster and with greater cost predictability.
- Expanded housing types, including accessory dwelling units (ADUs), adaptive reuse of underutilized buildings, co-living options, and manufactured housing.
Together, these tools help create a broader range of housing choices that reflect the needs of today’s households.
Why Affordable Housing Strengthens Our Community
Access to stable, affordable housing benefits everyone—not just the households who live in it.
Research consistently shows that housing stability is one of the most powerful predictors of long-term success. A major multi-year study from Stanford University found that children who grow up in stable, affordable homes perform better academically and have improved economic outcomes as adults. Children who moved to lower-poverty neighborhoods experienced increased earnings later in life and were more likely to invest in their communities.
When affordable housing is scarce, the impacts ripple outward. Families are forced to live farther from work, increasing traffic and transportation costs. Employers struggle to attract and retain workers. Communities lose young adults who want to stay but can’t find housing they can afford, and older residents have fewer options to downsize while remaining nearby.
In contrast, a healthy supply of affordable housing supports workforce stability, economic growth, environmental sustainability, and stronger neighborhoods.
What’s Available Today
While challenges remain, Frederick County and the City of Frederick have made meaningful progress in expanding affordable housing options for renters and homebuyers.
Within the City of Frederick, several communities offer income-restricted or moderately priced rental opportunities, including Foundry Square downtown, Catoctin View and Manor on Motter Avenue for seniors, Sharpe Square on Motter, Ox Fibre Apartments on East Church Street, and Crestwood Apartments on New Design Road. These communities help provide housing options near employment centers, schools, and services.
Outside the city, Railroad Square Apartments in Brunswick and Orchard Park at Ballenger Run offer other affordable rental options, contributing to housing choice along key transportation corridors and serving residents who want to remain connected to Frederick County while living in a smaller community.
Habitat for Humanity also plays a key role by creating affordable homeownership opportunities through condominiums and townhomes that use land trusts to help keep prices attainable over time.
In addition, many new townhome and apartment communities—while not income-restricted—like Gambrill Glen, Preserve at Tuscarora, and Upper East Apartments help relieve pressure on the overall housing market by increasing supply. When more housing is available at different price points, competition eases and affordability improves across the board.
How Affordable Rental Housing Is Financed: A Brief Look at LIHTC
One of the most important tools for creating affordable rental housing nationwide is the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC, pronounced “Li-tech”) program. Established by Congress in 1986, LIHTC allows private investors to receive federal tax credits in exchange for financing affordable rental homes. These credits reduce the cost of development, making it possible to offer rents that are lower than market rates while still covering operating expenses.
In Frederick County, LIHTC has helped support numerous affordable rental communities over the past several decades as we noted above. Through the work of the County’s Division of Housing, Frederick has successfully attracted these investments, resulting in hundreds of affordable homes for seniors, families, and individuals. This steady use of tax credits has been essential in maintaining a diverse housing stock as market rents continue to rise.
Still, innovative approaches to affordable housing have never been more critical given the reduction in federal assistance and the fact that the very competitive nature of LIHTC can result in no or fewer projects being funded in the County for any given year. Co-living (rental housing) projects can provide housing opportunities at a less per-unit construction cost than other types of projects, generally requiring less public construction subsidies. Rental subsidies, via vouchers, are eligible for such housing that can range in price from $500 per month to $1,200 per month. This affordable option should be considered in the County, especially if funds are available that were dedicated to other planned projects that did not receive tax credits.
What’s Under Construction and What’s Ahead
Looking forward, Frederick County and the City of Frederick continue to plan for growth in ways that support housing diversity and smart land use. Most new residential communities are located near existing infrastructure, employment centers, or transit corridors.
According to the City of Frederick’s development pipeline, nearly 14,000 housing units are planned or underway over the coming years. These range from small infill developments to large mixed-use neighborhoods such as Bloomfields, Brickworks, Renn Quarter, and Worman’s Mill Court Apartments. While not all these homes will meet formal affordability definitions, they will significantly expand the housing supply and help ease the ongoing imbalance between demand and availability.
Additional city and county developments—including Frederick Health Village, Simmers property in Thurmont, Summers Farm, The Terrace, and Lucas Village—will add a mix of housing types that serve different household sizes, life stages, and budgets.
Notably, the County’s new Prospect Center campus at the Old State Farm building on Himes Avenue is slated to be mostly affordable units. 150 units are planned. Both the City and County are actively considering public land for affordable housing.
Finally, the County’s Housing Needs Assessment study, which is in its final stages, will provide concrete data on the current housing gap and projected housing demand for both the County and City, and help to set a strategic direction for affordable housing policy.
Where to Learn More and Take Next Steps
For anyone searching for affordable housing, reliable information is key. Start with local housing agencies and nonprofit organizations, and follow up directly with property management offices to learn about availability and application timelines.
Helpful resources include:
- Housing Authority of the City of Frederick
- City of Frederick Department of Housing and Human Services
- Frederick County Division of Housing
- Habitat for Humanity of Frederick County
Visiting individual community websites and joining interest or waiting lists early can also improve your chances of finding a suitable home.
A Shared Responsibility
Affordable housing is not a single solution or a one-time effort—it’s an ongoing commitment. When we invest in housing that meets the needs of working families, seniors, and future generations, we strengthen Frederick County as a whole. Thoughtful planning, strong partnerships, and informed community conversations will continue to shape a county where people can live, work, and thrive—together.
