New Haven Independent

The renovation-restoration of 611 Congress, at Kossuth Street and across from the John Daniels School, was hailed by the mayor and Commissioner Joan McDonald (see photo below) of the state’s Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) at a press event Monday. They called it a notable example of the 321 units of affordable housing throughout the city that were created through leveraging a $7 million state grant given five years ago.

Said city LCI chief Andy Rizzo, “this is really all about families being able to have a place to live, to be warm, and happy.” Of the 321 units created, about 200 were developed on the home-ownership model. (Rizzo is pictured in the middle of with 611 Congress’s construction manager Ed Lopez, of Carlson Construction, and Mutual Housing Executive Director Seila Mosquera-Bruno.)

LCI used some of the funds to turn developer itself. Six units on nearby Hallock Street were created by LCI with a portion of the state grant, and LCI is the owner of 611 Congress, where by far the largest hunk of the $7 million was used — some $2 million — to create a project that will ultimately be 12 spacious units: six townhouses and six single-level units, all with four bedrooms.

Originally the buildings at 611, known as “The Three Sisters,” had 27 units. It was plagued by squatters, drug users, and neglect. The interior has been gutted and will be rehabbed by Ed Lopez and his team from Carlson Construction, LCI’s general contractor. Then it will be sold, it is hoped, as condominiums for around $225,000.

“However, with the subprime crisis still, in our view,” said Savin, “at the beginning of the problem, we may have to revisit those numbers.”

The city originally planned to tear down The Three Sisters to make room for the Daniels School. IIt changed its mind amid protests by preservationists from the Urban Design League.

“If you recall the development of the Daniels School,” the mayor acknowledged Monday, “we in the city were most aggressive in terms of acquisition of the land for it. And the community here was quite outspoken. We wanted to tear down 611, but they thought otherwise, and here we are, an excellent outcome.”

The character of the 1897 buildings will be preserved on the outside by Ed Lopez and his supervisor Jean-Claude Paul and their team, who are taking genuine pride in the work. An affordable condominium for a growing family on Congress Street just might be New Haven’s equivalent of a manger, even better.

Citywide Momentum

The $7 million state grant for affordable housing spurred an additional $52 million in investments from non-profit builders in neighborhoods throughout the city. Hill Development, for example, received a half-million-dollar allocation from the grant and developed that into a $1.8 million development of 16 units on Stevens, Auburn, Legion, and Sylvan. The Corporation for Urban Homeownership (CUHO) received $600,000 and built 46 units largely in Fair Haven.

Other partners include Habitat for Humanity and NeighborhoodWorks/New Horizons (formerly Mutual Housing), which is about to commence a 34-unit project at Canterbury Gardens. Receiving only $5,000, the group is leveraging that into a $5.6 million project.

“This is all about partnership with non-profits in the city,” said Mayor John DeStefano. “After all, it’s in the neighborhoods where the people live, and affordable housing, especially here, to complete the Congress Avenue streetscape, is vital.”

He noted that this special block grant is the opposite and, he suggested, complementary, approach to the Shartenberg development. “Here we have these funds, and we spread the seeds across the city.”

Commissioner McDonald praised the mayor and New Haven. “No greater compliment,” she said, “than to say that New Haven’s affordable housing and how they have done it is a model for the rest of the state to follow — a star performer in our portfolio.” She said that DECD is developing a statewide strategy for affordable housing; public forums are being held throughout the state. On Jan. 8 from 5 to 8 p.m., such a forum will be held in New Haven, at Engleman Hall at Southern Connecticut State University.

Because the leveraging ratio was such a success and affordable housing an ongoing need, the mayor said a request for $10 million more, to be developed in the same manner, is being worked on as part of the city’s legislative agenda for 2008. It should go to McDonald at DECD, he said, by early next year. Depending, then, on the partners assembled for the project, approvals by DECD could then take from three months to a year. If successful, then the request goes to the State Bonding Commission.