Civil Municipal Magazine - Dec 2023

194 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 4, ISSUE 12 Program Director Beth Nash works with school administrators and the city to help expose students in the county to the different opportunities available to them in New London. “If they do go off to college, we hope that they come back one day and support our workforce,” Kopitzke says. This retention mindset lies at the foundation of New London’s housing strategy as well. The city plans its housing projects to both accommodate incoming residents and give returning or long-time residents more optionality in their living arrangements. The city currently has four different housing developments, either under construction or scheduled for construction. Near its high school, there are about 30 single and two-family residential units, as well as a new 48-unit apartment being built. Closer to downtown, there is also a premier 98-unit apartment complex being built. “You need diversity in [the] community; these types of housing developments will also allow people to upgrade into a nicer apartment,” Hoerth says, explaining that having residents upgrade to newer homes opens the door for newer residents to occupy older housing stock. Additionally, the city is also prioritizing infill development of vacant lots as well as vacant properties that have yet to see development after being purchased. In the background of all of this, there will be an ongoing push in the next six months to twelve months to have municipalities