NEWINGTON, Conn. (WTNH) — Governor Ned Lamont is pressing for more affordable housing in Connecticut, especially in suburban towns. Wednesday morning, he put a spotlight on development in Newington.

New apartment buildings are under construction everywhere, but Cedar Pointe in Newington is different. It will be primarily affordable housing.

“Every single business leader I speak to says it’s great you’ve got workforce training, and you’ve got more skills out there,” Lamont (D-CT) said. “We have jobs to fill, but where are they going to live?”

Lamont is using this 108-unit development to highlight that dilemma and what can be done to solve it.

“We have a shortage of all different types of housing,” said Lamont. “If you want to give people an opportunity for growth, growth means places for people to live.”

Developer Dakota Partners leveraged state money and tax breaks to attract millions more in private equity.

“Affordable housing really matters to the community because it gives families that can’t afford expensive housing because that is what seems to be all over the place these days,” said Dakota Partners Principal Roberto Arista.

Almost as important as the affordability of the apartments is where they’re located. The Governor wants to see more housing built next to mass transit, and just down the street from Cedar Pointe is some other new construction – a new FastTrack bus station.

“It makes all the sense in the world,” Lamont said. “I want less people in automobiles, more people to be able to walk to work.”

Affordable units like these are for people who make between $15,000 and $80,000 a year. If you make a little more, there may be help on the way for you, too.

“If the budget passes, because the governor has put in an additional $200 million for individuals who are making $80,000-$120,000,” said Connecticut Housing Commissioner Seila Mosquera-Bruno. “Young professionals, teachers, workers in the municipalities.”

The Lamont administration says more market-rate housing was built in the last year than in the previous century but still wants thousands more affordable units built in the next two years.