Two vacant office buildings are being converted into mixed-income housing in Hartford, Connecticut.
Pennrose and The Cloud Co. celebrated the groundbreaking of Trinity Street Apartments, which will bring 104 rental homes—83 market-rate and 21 affordable units.
“Located directly across the street from Hartford’s historic Bushnell Park and the State Capitol, Trinity Street Apartments will bring vitality, investment, and much-needed housing to one of Connecticut’s most iconic locations,” said Karmen Cheung, regional vice president at Pennrose. “As the state continues to grapple with the housing crisis, we hope the project serves as a model for successful and equitable office-to-housing conversions.”
In addition to the new modern apartments, the project calls for approximately 4,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space and significant building improvements with the installation of all-electric utilities, new insulation, repointed masonry, and sustainability upgrades.
Pennrose purchased the 1920s-era buildings from the Connecticut Department of Administrative Services. Haynes Construction Co. is serving as general contractor, executing plans developed by architect WRT and civil engineer Bohler, advised by Public Archaeology Laboratory, a historic architecture consultancy. Innova Services Corp. is serving as construction consultant. Pennrose Management Co. will serve as the property manager.
“It has taken us four years to bring together the financial resources needed to make this historic redevelopment happen. We are excited to be the co-developer of this project and thank all of our public and private-sector partners for their support,” added Sanford Cloud Jr., chairman and CEO of The Cloud Co.
Financing for the $52 million project includes federal low-income housing tax credits purchased by Key Community Development Corp.; federal historic tax credits purchased by Key CDC and J.P. Morgan; and Connecticut historic tax credits purchased by Eversource and facilitated by the Massachusetts Housing Investment Corp.
Construction and permanent loans are provided by KeyBank. Other sources include a subordinate loan from the Capital Region Development Authority, an award from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston’s Affordable Housing Program, and state sources including Urban Act funds, Department of Housing FLEX funds, and Department of Economic Community Development Brownfields funds.
