Shovels Mean Good News At Dwight & Edgewood

by Paul Bass | June 5, 2007 10:51 PM | | Comments (3)

Picture%20591.jpgMovers and shakers including Max Corvino (pictured) donned hard hats to mark the reclaiming of a key vacant corner property in Dwight that’s becoming a two-family home.

It turned out there wasn’t much dirt to symbolically shovel at the official ground-breaking at the corner of Dwight and Edgewood on Tuesday. But for the neighborhood, there was plenty to celebrate.

Neighbors have worried about that property, a former laundromat, deli, and storefront church, for some ten years, since it became vacant.

The city foreclosed on the property. It heard from potential buyers wanting to put in a deli, a video store, or a convenience store, according to Frank D’Amore, deputy director of the Liveable City Initiative’s property division. But neighbors sent a consistent message: No. No business. They wanted homes there at what is a crossroads — and sometimes trouble spot — for the Dwight area.

So the city sold the property for $75,000 to the not-for-profit Neighborhood Housing Services (NHS), which has helped stabilize neighborhoods by building 376 housing units, often in renovated old buildings, throughout the city since 1980.

Most of that housing has been “affordable” — subsidized to enable blue-collar people to buy and live in them.

Picture%20593.jpgThis will be NHS’s first completely “market-rate” project. NHS usually buys buildings from the city or banks for around $10,000. Since this one cost so much more, the finances weren’t going to work to keep the price low enough for an “affordable” buyer, explained NHS chief Jim Paley (pictured). He estimated the sales price for this rehabbed two-family at $375,000. However NHS does plan to place a restriction in the deed requiring the owner to live there.

Max Corvino lives two doors down from the building. So does his mom, Amy Corvino.

“We’re very excited about it,” Amy Corvino said. “It’s just been sitting empty for so long.”

Picture%20595.jpgAmid the excitement Tuesday, the bagels, pastries and butter balls brought over from Lena’s Cafe And Confections in Westville went unattended. Paley said they’d be put to good use back at the NHS office.







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Comments

Posted by: Leslie | June 6, 2007 10:31 AM

The front of this building has fabulous brick work and an interesting old metal sign, all of which was boarded up over the years but is now visible. What are NHS' plans for renovation? I hope they keep the charm of that brick work in place!

Posted by: TrueBlueCT | June 6, 2007 11:55 AM

Paul--

The property has sat vacant for almost fifteen years. (at least back to 1993.

The laundromat was being used to launder drug money, so the feds seized the property. They tried to sell it for something like 100K, but couldn't. (the commercial uses had been grandfathered in, but when the properties sat dormant for over a year, the continuing use expired.) At that point they turned the property over to the city.

Since then, it's been a textbook case of the city not handling the disposition properly. I won't bore anyone with the details, but countless offers and a dozen years later it is finally good news that this vacant corner will be brought alive!

Posted by: dwightstreetrenter [TypeKey Profile Page] | June 7, 2007 2:40 PM

after living here 2+ years, I'm soo happy to finally see this property be developed! I've been to many of the meetings in the neighborhood on the planning proposals, etc that went into making the decision for owner-occupied housing, and I'm happy to see the work commence.

A few weeks ago, someone nailed up an advertisement on the storefront, which I promptly pulled down. Work had not yet begun, and it was somewhat ironic that just as the building was about to start being renovated into housing, someone saw it as a perfect billboard. Well this property has been the "Blight on Dwight" for too long!

Gone are the days of drugs, violence and worry on Dwight, and in are the hopes and dreams of owner-occupied residences- and neighborhood. Next to the property is the Kid's Rainbow Park, which is a community greenspace with gravel walkways, flowers, native plants and shrubs, and benches.

Why not bring your lunch to the park, while you ponder the new construction on the lot next door? It really is a nice neighborhood...historic houses and friendly neighbors. Our neighborhood Blockwatch meets at this park for summertime functions. Maybe we'll see you there?

see the attached link for our blockwatch website.

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