A site of a long-vacant Pontiac dealership has been transformed into a new mixed-income community in West Hartford, Conn.
The property sat unused for more than a decade before Trout Brook Realty Advisors, a nonprofit subsidiary of the West Hartford Housing Authority, cleaned up the site and developed 616 New Park, a 54-unit development with 43 affordable homes for residents earning no more than 25%, 50%, and 60% of the area median income, including 13 supportive housing units for veterans. The vets receive services through an arrangement with the Veterans Affairs Connecticut Healthcare System and the Errera Community Care Center.
More than just providing housing, 616 New Park is a pioneer in West Hartford’s new transit corridor and sits adjacent to a station developed for Connecticut’s first Bus Rapid Transit system (CT Fastrak), putting residents a few minutes away from downtown Hartford. The development is the first to utilize a 2015 zoning overlay, allowing for mixed-use developments in an area zoned as industrial and in need of economic development.
“What it’s meant to West Hartford and the Elmwood neighborhood is revitalization,” says George Howell, executive director of the housing authority, explaining that the four-story, modern development is an important catalyst in transforming the area into a vibrant, transit-oriented neighborhood. The first floor includes 3,000 square feet of commercial space, which officials hope will be occupied by a coffee house and a fitness center.
Financing for the $23.4 million development includes low-income housing tax credits awarded by the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority and syndicated by the National Equity Fund.
