Cottage Communities

Market Street Village in Georgetown: The Facts in One Place

Person using a laptop beside a window overlooking a streetscape of small buildings
Planned cottage homes at Market Street Village in Georgetown, Delaware.

Market Street Village is a planned 20-cottage affordable rental community at 501–515 East Market Street in Georgetown, Delaware, not Georgetown, Texas. If you searched for Market Street Village Georgetown, this is the Little Living project with income-based eligibility, utilities and internet included, and first homes expected in 2027.

Details about the development have shifted as the plan has moved through funding, zoning, and site review. This guide separates the current proposal from older reports, explains what renters can expect, and identifies the details you still need to verify before joining the waitlist.

What Is Market Street Village In Georgetown?

Market Street Village is a planned cottage community designed to provide smaller, detached rental homes for income-qualified households. Little Living, a Delaware nonprofit organization, is developing the project as workforce housing rather than a conventional apartment complex or homebuyer subdivision. The latest published plan calls for 20 cottages arranged around shared outdoor areas. The intended residents include working individuals and families, seniors, and veterans who meet the program’s requirements.

The cottages fall under Georgetown’s Cottage Housing Development rules. Those rules define cottages as detached homes containing between 350 and 850 square feet, usually arranged around shared open space. The homes are not trailers, mobile homes, hotel rooms, or units in a large apartment building. Little Living’s published floor-size range is narrower, running from approximately 420 to 810 square feet.

Older articles may describe a 22-home proposal with lower estimated rents. Little Living’s current materials list 20 homes and updated starting rates, so you shouldn’t rely on the earlier figures when budgeting. The current unit mix is five one-bedroom cottages, five two-bedroom cottages, and ten three-bedroom cottages.

Where Is Market Street Village Located?

The development site is on East Market Street in Georgetown, Delaware. Little Living lists the broader project address as 501–515 East Market Street, and state environmental records identify parcels at 501 and 503 East Market Street. This places the community within Georgetown town limits rather than in a distant subdivision carrying a Georgetown mailing address. It also distinguishes the project from unrelated properties named Market Street Village in Wilmington, Delaware, and Hurst, Texas.

East Market Street provides a direct connection to central Georgetown and the town’s surrounding road network. Since commute times change with traffic, road work, and your destination, check the specific route rather than relying on a general mileage claim. This matters if you work in another Sussex County community or need frequent access to medical care, schools, shopping, or public services.

You should also examine how parking and internal circulation appear on the approved site plan. Georgetown’s cottage housing rules require at least 1.5 parking spaces for a one-bedroom cottage and two spaces for homes with two or more bedrooms. Parking cannot sit between a cottage entrance and the shared open space under the adopted design rules. Confirm the finished parking arrangement if you have multiple vehicles, receive regular visitors, or need an accessible route from your vehicle to your home.

What Homes And Rental Rates Are Planned?

Market Street Village is planned with one-, two-, and three-bedroom detached cottages. Current sample rates start at $950 per month for one bedroom, $1,100 for two bedrooms, and $1,200 for three bedrooms. Little Living states that utilities and internet are included in those amounts. The rates are starting figures and will be confirmed as individual homes become available.

Each cottage is expected to have a private kitchen with appliances, a bathroom with a walk-in shower, a washer and dryer, closet space, and an attached storage shed. The developer describes the homes as stick-built and solar-ready. A covered porch is also part of Georgetown’s cottage housing standards. These details give the homes more separation and privacy than units sharing walls in a standard apartment building.

The smaller floor plans require careful space planning. A 420-square-foot one-bedroom cottage can suit one resident who wants a compact home, but furniture dimensions and storage needs will matter. Larger households should compare the bedroom count with total floor area rather than assuming a three-bedroom cottage has the proportions of a full-size detached house. Ask for the precise floor plan, room measurements, occupancy limit, deposit, lease term, and move-in charges before signing anything.

Who Can Apply For A Cottage?

The homes are intended for households earning approximately 50% to 80% of the local Area Median Income (AMI). Little Living currently describes that range as roughly $40,000 to $64,000 per year, but your eligibility will depend on household size, the cottage selected, and the applicable program rules. Income limits can change, so the published dollar range should serve as an estimate rather than a guaranteed qualification line. You’ll need income and employment documentation during the formal application process.

Full applications are not yet listed as open. Little Living is accepting names through a Market Street Village waitlist and says it will contact interested renters when homes and open-house dates are announced. Joining the list does not appear to guarantee a cottage, reserve a unit, or replace the formal screening process. Ask how waitlist order, household size, income verification, rental history, and cottage selection will affect placement.

Little Living also advertises a rent-to-own option under which part of a monthly payment is placed into an account for a future home down payment. That offer has separate payment terms and should not be treated as automatic for every resident. Request the written agreement, account ownership details, withdrawal rules, eligibility conditions, and what happens if you move before the stated savings period ends. Review the normal rental option and the ownership-related option separately before choosing between them.

Which Amenities And Community Features Are Included?

The planned community centers on shared outdoor space rather than a large private yard for every cottage. Little Living’s concept materials show a village green, community pavilion, gardens, playground, and walking paths. Georgetown’s zoning rules require common open space in cottage developments and call for at least 400 square feet of shared open space per cottage. They also require at least 200 square feet of private outdoor space for each unit.

Those shared features support a close-set neighborhood design, but concept illustrations aren’t the same as a finished construction plan. Confirm which amenities appear in the approved site plan, which will be ready when the first cottages open, and who will maintain them. You should also ask whether the pavilion or gardens have operating hours, reservation rules, guest limits, or separate charges. Planned landscaping can change during engineering and construction review.

Utilities and internet are included in the advertised starting rents, which makes monthly cost comparisons easier. Still, you should request a written list of covered services, including electricity, water, sewer, heating, cooling, trash collection, and internet equipment. Ask whether usage limits, service tiers, optional upgrades, or resident-paid connection fees apply. A single monthly price is useful only when the lease defines everything that price covers.

What Is The Approval And Construction Status?

Market Street Village has moved beyond an early idea, but the project isn’t presented as a finished, move-in-ready community. Georgetown adopted cottage housing rules and approved the rezoning needed for Little Living to pursue the 20-home plan. The developer says construction is beginning and expects the first homes in 2027. Applications and open-house dates have not yet been released.

Local officials later considered repealing Georgetown’s broader cottage housing ordinance. The Planning Commission voted against recommending the proposed repeal in its submitted form, and local reporting stated that Market Street Village would have been allowed to continue under the repeal proposal because its application had already been submitted. The debate concerned the townwide cottage rules as well as other possible projects, not only these 20 homes. You should watch official meeting records for any later action that affects review or construction.

The project also received a $620,000 funding reservation through Delaware’s Downtown Development District program. A reservation sets funding aside, but the final rebate depends on project completion and a later application. Separate state records identify part of the site as the former location of a convenience store and note negotiations for a brownfields development agreement due to possible effects from past activity. Before moving in, request the latest site assessment, remediation status, agency approvals, and any occupancy conditions tied to the property.

What Should You Verify Before Joining The Waitlist?

Start with the lease terms, actual monthly rate, income limit, cottage size, and expected availability. Market Street Village is a rental community, so no tenant homeowners association (HOA) fee is currently advertised. That doesn’t rule out deposits, application charges, pet costs, late-payment charges, or other lease-based expenses. Request a complete fee sheet instead of assuming the listed starting rent is the only amount due before move-in.

Families should verify school assignments using the Delaware Department of Education’s address-based school locator. Georgetown Elementary School, Georgetown Middle School, and Sussex Central High School operate within the Indian River School District, but a town address alone doesn’t confirm a child’s assigned campus. Attendance boundaries and enrollment options can change. Enter the exact cottage address after individual unit addresses become available.

The main benefits are detached homes, included utilities and internet, several bedroom choices, and a design built around shared green space. The tradeoffs include compact floor plans, income restrictions, shared amenities, an unfinished construction schedule, and limited current information about final lease rules. Market Street Village Georgetown may suit you if predictable housing costs and a smaller detached home matter more than a large private lot. Your decision should rest on the final lease, completed site, approved amenities, school assignment, and confirmed move-in date.

What Is Market Street Village In Georgetown?

  • 20 affordable rental cottages in Georgetown, Delaware
  • One-, two-, and three-bedroom homes
  • Utilities and internet included
  • Income eligibility applies
  • First homes expected in 2027

Use The Current Plan, Not The Older Headlines

Market Street Village is now described as a 20-cottage rental community with current starting rates from $950 to $1,200 per month. The strongest selling points are detached homes, included utilities and internet, private appliances, and shared outdoor areas. You still need to confirm income eligibility, exact fees, the finished site plan, environmental documentation, school assignments, and the release schedule for individual cottages. Joining the waitlist can keep you informed, but it doesn’t replace reviewing the application and lease. Treat every price, feature, and opening estimate as confirmed only when it appears in the documents for your specific unit.

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