HARTFORD, CT – Today, Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff (D-Norwalk), State Representative Lucy Dathan, State Representative Chris Perone and State Representative Travis Simms announced the expected release of funds from the State Bond Commission to benefit the St. Paul’s Flax Hill Cooperative in Norwalk. For over 40 years, St. Paul’s has been a critical part of the South Norwalk neighborhood, providing cooperative housing for a wide range of household incomes.
St. Paul’s is an 86-unit limited equity cooperative constructed in 1976 under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) 236 program. The HUD restrictions expired 2 years ago but the members of St. Paul’s chose to remain affordable rather than convert their community to market-rate housing. In doing so, the members sought out financial assistance from the Connecticut Department of Housing and, in December 2017, St. Paul’s was awarded $4,090,000 in CHAMP 11 funding. Since that time the members and their development team have completed all the work necessary to begin renovations including the last stages of underwriting at Connecticut Housing Finance Authority (CHFA) for the balance of the funding we require.
The total estimated project cost is $8,982,330 and will be funded through a CHFA loan of $5,350,000 and state funding of $3,034,272. The loan will be provided at a rate of not less than 0% for a term not to exceed 45 years with principal deferred. The Bond Commission is scheduled to meet on Wednesday, December 18 to approve this funding.
“For 40 years, St. Paul’s has been a cornerstone of the South Norwalk neighborhood and this state funding ensures it will remain so for the next generation,” said Senator Duff. “I’ve been working on this project with the community for years and I am glad to see it come to fruition. Connecticut’s commitment to affordable housing is critical to the future of our state and I’m eager to see the needs of St. Paul addressed and the building restored. I want to thank the State Bond Commission and Governor Ned Lamont for this important funding.”
“This is great news for St. Paul’s that will allow the continuation of an approach to housing that keeps it affordable for those that cannot move into more costly options,” Rep. Simms said. “I applaud this funding and know it will go a long way to improving lives in the South Norwalk neighborhood.”
“The Flax Hill Cooperative is open to low and moderate income individuals,” said Rep. Perone. “It was an initiative to make our area a more attractive place to live, work and raise a family while providing housing stability to our most vulnerable residents. The $3mm loan will go along way towards helping the cooperative in its mission.”
“It is very important for our state to invest in improving affordable housing to make Connecticut a more attractive place to live, work and raise a family,” said Rep. Dathan. “I am pleased to see the Governor’s commitment in providing stability and assistance to our state’s most vulnerable residents, especially here in Norwalk.”
“The members here of St. Paul’s Flax Hill Cooperative would like to express our gratitude to everyone for helping our community stay strong and affordable,” said Rodolfo (Rudy) Carranza, President of St. Paul’s Flax Hill Cooperative. “This will be an important turning point for us, our families, and for future generations to come. It has been a long road to get here and we have been waiting with anticipation and excitement to see this last step finally reached. We hope all this will be achieved with the approval of our Department of Housing funding. The members of our community, our board, and myself Rodolfo (Rudy) Carranza President would like to extend our appreciation and Thank you for your time. We can not wait for renovations to begin in our community, ‘The New St. Paul’s Terrace.’”
