Officials from West Hartford, the state, and those involved in the financing of a mixed-use, mixed-income development in West Hartford celebrated a grand opening on Tuesday.

By Ronni Newton

Officials celebrating the completion and grand opening of a $20 million mixed-use, mixed-income residential and retail transit-oriented development in West Hartford on Tuesday couldn’t tour one of the residential units – because they’re already 100% leased and occupied by tenants.

Twenty-three months after the “beam signing” for 540 New Park – developed by Trout Brook Realty Advisors, the development arm of the West Hartford Housing Authority which now manages the property – officials pointed to the project as already a great success, but also as evidence of the need for more projects of this type.

The new four-story modern development, which features a light-filled lobby, murals, and a fitness center, as well as sleek, high-quality finishes, is located on the site of what was formerly an Acme Auto Parts warehouse – a long-vacant and blighted property which was demolished and the site remediated as part of the project. The 1.81-acre site which is located at 540 New Park Avenue in West Hartford sits at the corner of Oakwood and New Park avenues, and is equidistant from the Flatbush and Elmwood CTfastrak stations.

West Hartford Housing Authority Executive Director Jill Corrado said the first tenants began moving into the the building in December 2022, and between January and early May the property completely filled up. The mixed-income residence includes a total of 52 units (27 two-bedroom and 25 one-bedroom units), and 41 of the units are occupied by those with incomes at 60% or less of area median income, which in 2023 is $49,620 for a one-person household, $56,700 for a two-person household, and $63,780 for a three-person household. Eleven units are market rate, and target a demographic of working professionals in their 20s and 30s.

“It’s been almost four years in the making since inception,” said Corrado, who served as emcee for the grand opening celebration. She was named the West Hartford Housing Authority’s executive director in January after serving as its CFO for many years and took over following the retirement of longtime executive director George Howell, who oversaw the development of this project by Trout Brook Realty, along with the 616 New Park development right down the road that opened in 2018, Elm Grove at 11 Grove Street, Alfred E. Plant at 759 Farmington Avenue, The Goodwin at 189 Newington Road, and The Faxon at 1078 New Britain Avenue.

Clare Doyle Dowd, board president of the West Hartford Housing Authority Board of Commissioners, said since she has been in the role since 2018, “West Hartford has continued to demonstrate leadership in affordable housing, and the building we’re standing in today is a testament to that commitment and innovation.”

Dowd also brought Howell up to the podium, thanking him for the “leadership, insight, [and] commitment toward affordable housing in the West Hartford community” during his roughly 15-year tenure as executive director.

The vision back in 2019 to purchase the long-vacant property has led to the development “that’s transformed the area and given its residents the opportunity to call a beautiful place home, to live close to stores, public transportation, to be able to commute to work, to be close to shopping, entertainment, medical facilities and have their children attend school in the highly-rated West Hartford school district – and all at rent levels that are affordable.”

The before and after transformation of the property “is truly amazing,” Corrado said.

“Putting together a project like this is a demonstration in patience, perseverance, excitement, nervousness, and a whole lot of teamwork,” said Corrado, who introduced key members of the many organizations that played a role in bringing the vision to fruition.

Mayor Shari Cantor, who Corrado called a “tireless advocate” for affordable housing, said it really takes a village to make the town so vibrant and diverse, and repeated a phrase she has mentioned in the past: “If you stand still, you lose the race.”

West Hartford is a top-rated community because leaders are looking ahead to what will be needed in 20 years, and being a diverse community means “that we will support housing for anybody and everybody that we can.” There is a housing crisis in the town, the region, the state, she said, and “adding housing stock, especially stock that provides quality affordable housing, is the most important thing that we can do to keep our community top.”

Cantor also touted the Town Council’s appropriation of $6 million – roughly 15% – of its allotted American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for the establishment of a fund to support affordable housing development. “We want to make sure that we also are partners with our developments,” she said. The projects take years and are complicated – from finding sites, purchasing property, perhaps remediation, to the financing.

“Sometimes those pieces don’t all come together and we need to help,” Cantor said, noting that there has been so much interest in the fund that there may need to be consideration to increasing it because it’s a really important way of investing int he community. “We want to be sure that we are providing the best quality housing at all affordability levels,” she said.

Cantor also noted that thanks to investment by the state, New Park Avenue will also be getting a facelift to become a more accessible road for multimodal transportation, “and we are hoping – and I have said this to the governor and I am going to keep repeating it – that we hope that there’s a train station down the end of this street as well.”

The transformation of an abandoned property into 540 New Park brings new life not just to the site itself, but to all of the businesses in the corridor – and to the nearby area of Hartford as well.

616 New Park was fully leased right away, as was 540 New Park, which ” shows to me the need and the desire for people to have affordable housings, accessible housing, right in this corridor and throughout the town. … It is really critical that we all go on this journey together of providing affordable housing and varied housing throughout the community.”

Others who spoke at the grand opening included Kevin White, managing director of real estate development for the Washington, DC-based National Housing Trust, a nonprofit that responds to the affordable housing challenge through advocacy as well as financing and development.

“To be able to deliver affordable housing really requires several things, and 540 really is a manifestation of that,” he said. “It takes the right location, it takes a commitment to long-term affordability, it takes strong partnerships, and it takes a committed team.” West Hartford and the Elmwood area is really ideal, White said.

Connecticut Department of Housing Commissioner Seila Mosquera-Bruno, who had attended the beam signing in 2021, recalled that Howell showed up in her office to talk about 540 New Park several years ago and told her he needed funding for the project because it was otherwise ready to go. “Let me thank you very much for educating me. Thank you very much for being persistent,” she said.

“This development really checked all the boxes,” Mosquera-Bruno said. It’s beautiful and high quality, it’s transit-oriented, and it has spaces for the community to gather.

The governor has given DOH $600 million and wants to double the commitment to affordable housing, developing 6,400 additional affordable units in the next two years, she said. “We do know that the need is pretty big, and we need to respond to that, and we’re going to be able to. … We want another project like this.”

Nandini Natarajan, CEO of the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority (CHFA) is a West Hartford resident and said she has been driving by this project for years, watching the transformation of a former eyesore since attending the beam signing. She is happy that CHFA was able to provide federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) that attracted $12 million of private investment for the project.

This project will be a cornerstone of an up-and-coming neighborhood, Natarajan said, and “is an excellent demonstration of how public-private partnerships can work and can breathe new life into a community.”

Housing is a hot topic, and CHFA and DOH are working together to understand and address the challenges. “As towns like West Hartford contemplate how to plan for and meet the needs of its residents, I will submit that 540 New Park is one of those special developments that can serve as a road map for many. What was once a vacant building, a polluted site, can now be home to 52 households.” And those households, located in a walkable community near transit, will offer a mix of affordability, and additionally some units are set aside as supportive housing units for individuals who are clients of the Department of Developmental Services.

The development is not only in a walkable area with transit hubs roughly 10 minutes away, but it also is eco-friendly and promotes sustainability with energy efficient windows and appliances, Natarajan said. “… 540 New Park embodies a vision for housing can meet people where they are and get where they want to go. It’s building for the future by serving the needs today.”

Michael Weinstock, Hartford Regional President at M&T Bank, noted that the 52 units “leased in the blink of an eye,” demonstrating that there clearly is a need and a community willing to respond.

Building the capital stack for affordable housing is very sophisticated and complicated.

“This is a very quality building,” Weinstock said, down to the sidewalks and parking lot. “It does take a village .. it does take everybody to kind of step up and get out of their comfort zone … to put 52 families in something that we can all be proud of is amazing.”

Weinstock said that “as a community bank, M&T believes in investing in our communities and supporting initiatives that make a positive impact on people’s lives, and this project is a prime example of that commitment.”

Stella Spyropoulos, from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of Field Policy Management in Hartford noted that HUD had provided project-based vouchers for 13 of the units in a building that is transformative. Over the next 20 years, she said, HUD’s rental subsidies for the units will exceed $3.5 million, and HUD is proud of its partnerships with the other agencies involved in the project.

West Hartford will be adding affordable housing throughout town, including in Elmwood where re-development of 1051-1061 New Britain Avenue by Sami Abunasra through the town’s new Transit-Oriented Development ordinance calls for for a five-story 205,262-square foot mixed-use building with 150 residential units, 20% affordable at 80% AMI. A small percentage of units in developments throughout town will also be affordable, and a project that will be getting underway on Farmington Avenue near West Hartford Center will transform the West Hartford Inn and a long-vacant restaurant into The Camelot, with 44 units, 90% of which will be affordable.

Like what you see here? Click here to subscribe to We-Ha’s newsletter so you’ll always be in the know about what’s happening in West Hartford! Click the blue button below to become a supporter of We-Ha.com and our efforts to continue producing quality journalism.