WEST HARTFORD —Senator Beth Bye (D-West Hartford) announced today that the State Bond Commission will give West Hartford a $5 million loan to help build a new, mixed-income housing development on the site of an abandoned automobile dealership at 616 New Park Avenue, adjacent to the CTFastrak station and across the street from The Hartford Baking Company and other retail shops.
The $5 million loan will be provided at 1 percent interest for 30 years—with principle and interest deferred—to Trout Brook Realty Advisors, which is a separate nonprofit corporation established by the West Hartford Housing Authority to acquire, develop, manage and rehabilitate affordable housing in town.
Sen. Bye—who requested that this bonding be made a priority—said the development will include several below-market rental units which she believes will help attract and retain young people to live and grow in West Hartford.
“Attracting and keeping young people in Connecticut is one of my priorities, which is why I have been so focused on investing in new technologies like gigabit internet service and funding state startups,” Sen. Bye said. “But these Generation Y and Z residents need an affordable place to live if they are going to work here. Connecticut has some of the highest housing costs in the country, so affordable apartments like these—on a high-speed bus line, and in a vibrant community—make their Connecticut options much more attractive.”
It has been reported that projected rents for the below-market rate units at 616 New Park will be $1,055 a month for a one-bedroom unit and $1,259 a month for a two-bedroom unit; similar market-rate units are $1,300 and $1,550, respectively.
Thirty-two below-market rate units will be built for people with incomes 60 percent or less of the area median income, or about $36,800 for an individual and $52,500 for a family. Another 11 units of supportive housing for military veterans and 11 market-rate units will also be built.
Construction on the $22 million project is expected to begin in the fall, with completion in 2018.