FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tuesday, August 15, 2023

SENS. HARTLEY & CABRERA WELCOME $3 MILLION STATE INVESTMENT IN NAUGATUCK YMCA CHILDCARE CENTER

NAUGATUCK – State Senators Joan Hartley (D-Waterbury) and Jorge Cabrera (D-Hamden) today welcomed the news that the State of Connecticut is investing $3 million to expand the Naugatuck YMCA’s childcare facility by renovating the adjacent vacant Saint Frances Parochial School.

The plans include a licensed birth to five childcare center, school and teen programming, a teenage recreational center, and family resources. Located less than a half mile from the newly planned rail line platform and 200 mixed-rate apartments, the expansion will help meet childcare needs in the area.

Just last year, Sen. Hartley welcomed a different $1 million state investment in the Naugatuck YMCA for upgrades including roof repairs.

“Every investment in childcare is an investment in economic development. With the expansion of the Naugatuck Y’s childcare facility, we will enable more parents to return to the workplace knowing they have nearby quality, affordable and accessible childcare,” Sen. Hartley said. “Having recently secured a state bonding allocation for the Naugatuck Y, and now with the CCC grant, I am thrilled to see this program come to fruition.”

“When we created this program two years ago, I knew good things were going to happen for the people of Connecticut. Now we’ve got childcare expansion and a teen rec center at a time in Naugatuck when the economy is booming, more folks are working full-time and new housing is being built,” said Sen. Cabrera, who represents the southern half of Naugatuck. “This is the right investment at the right time, and I couldn’t be happier that Naugatuck was awarded this state grant.”

Naugatuck YMCA CEO Mark LaFortune said over the past two years, his organization has received a total of $5.9 million in state and federal grants, and that this latest grant will have a positive impact on Naugatuck.

“We’re going to create a state-of-the-art facility for local families, from birth to adult,” LaFortune said. “And one of the things we learned throughout the pandemic is that our teens need more services and more places to go. This grant will help create that for teens and serve them in a supervised environment.”

Governor Ned Lamont recently announced that the state is awarding a total of $23 million to eight towns and cities – including Naugatuck – under the third round of his administration’s

recently launched Connecticut Communities Challenge Grant program. Administered by the state Department of Economic and Community Development, the program was created in 2021 with the purpose of funding a wide range of revitalization projects that will spur the growth of new jobs. This third round of grants leverages approximately $105 million in non-state dollars.

More details on the Connecticut Communities Challenge Grant program can be found online at portal.ct.gov/DECD/Content/Business-Development/05_Funding_Opportunities/CT-Communities-Challenge-Grant.

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