The Elle will be developed at 1244 North Main Street, the former home of Congregation Agudas Achim.

By Ronni Newton

Plans by Trout Brook Reality, the development arm of the West Hartford Housing Authority, to repurpose a former synagogue building at 1244 North Main Street into a 49-units residential housing development called The Elle were buoyed by the announcement Wednesday by Gov. Ned Lamont that the project will receive $660,096 in funds from the state for remediation and abatement under the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development’s Brownfield Remediation and Development Program.

A majority of the development – 80% of the units in The Elle – will be deed restricted at various levels of affordability, and the completed project will be managed by the West Hartford Housing Authority.

“We are so grateful to Governor Lamont, the State of Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development, West Hartford’s legislative delegation, Mayor Shari Cantor, and the Town of West Hartford for their approval of needed funds for remediation and abatement at The Elle at North Main,” said Jill Corrado CEO of Trout Brook Realty Advisors and Executive Director of the West Hartford Housing Authority in a statement.

West Hartford Economic Development Coordinator Kristen Gorski said that in the fall of 2023, the Town Council approved a resolution for submission of the grant application for the Brownfield funds through a public-private partnership. The Brownfield Remediation and Development Program allows municipalities, regional development authorities, or land banks – not businesses – to apply for grants that would assist with Brownfield redevelopment projects that could then result in significant economic impact to the community.

Once received, the grant monies are then passed along to the developer through a pass-through or sub-recipient agreement.

The announcement of the grant for this West Hartford project had been contingent on other financing milestones, which have been met, leading to the announcement of the grant in the most recent round, according to Gorski. “It’s a very competitive program, and we are very grateful to DECD and the state,” she said of the program.

“This funding is a critical component in financing our plans to bring new affordable homes to West Hartford,” Corrado said.

The former Agudas Achim at 1244 North Main Street. Photo credit: Ronni Newton (we-ha.com file photo)

The application for The Elle was approved in an 8-1 Town Council vote in October 2023.

The former West Hartford synagogue at 1244 North Main Street was for more than 50 years the home of Congregation Agudas Achim – a congregation first founded by Romanian Sephardic Jews in Hartford in the late 1800s – and will be the subject of adaptive reuse and redevelopment as it is transformed into The Elle. The project will maintain the structure’s unique stained-glass façade and other portions of the existing building while constructing 49 multifamily units.

The Elle will include a mixture of 24 one-bedroom, 23 two-bedroom, and two three-bedroom apartments. Of the 80% that are deed-restricted as affordable, six units will be reserved for residents at 60% AMI (area median income), 20 units will be at 50% AMI, and 13 units at 30% AMI.  The remaining 10 units will be market rate rentals. Rents for the affordable units will be set depending on the family size and income, and in accordance with Connecticut Housing Finance Authority (CHFA) income and rent restrictions.

In addition to the state DECD remediation funding announced this week, The Elle will also receive financing from CHFA, the State of Connecticut Department of Housing, the Town of West Hartford ARPA Affordable Housing Development Program, and M&T Bank. 

Trout Brook Realty Advisors said Thursday that they are working to finalize funding and plan to close on The Elle’s financing by the end of the year. Site work and construction should begin shortly thereafter, with completion of The Elle in Spring of 2026.

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