A passerby on Friday claimed to see people throwing trash out of the building's broken windows.
Mona Mahadevan photos
The building is covered with graffiti and surrounded by trash.
The building's internal courtyard is completely overgrown.
The potential revitalization of the dilapidated clock factory on Hamilton Street has been delayed once again, as a state judge has granted the property’s owner more time to clean up environmental contaminants and subordinate debt before selling the complex to the housing authority.
Taom Heritage New Haven LLC, a subsidiary of Oregon-based Reed Community Partners, purchased the property in 2018 and long planned on converting the 150,000 square-foot site into 130 affordable apartments — but never followed through on that plan.
In May 2023, the city foreclosed on the building for $241,000 in unpaid back taxes and interest. The property’s auction date, originally set at the end of 2023, has been repeatedly postponed on the requests of Taom Heritage.
On Thursday, a state judge approved moving the final foreclosure sale date from June 28 to October 4.
That new delay is to (again) give Taom Heritage a bit more time to satisfy the terms of a purchase and sale agreement it reached with the Housing Authority of New Haven (HANH) in June 2024. The housing authority plans to purchase the clock factory complex for $4.5 million in order to turn it into 100 mixed-income, mostly-affordable apartments.
That transaction won’t take place, however, until the current owners finish environmental remediation on the site. The specific remediation tasks, outlined in Exhibit D of the purchase and sale agreement, include cleanup of radium, mercury, and animal waste, as well as securing the building by “boarding up openings accessible to intruders.”
In its May 12 request to delay the foreclosure sale date, Taom Heritage claimed that despite its efforts, “the work set forth in Exhibit D of the PSA has not been completed, and, it is anticipated, will not be completed for at least several months.” The company also cited complications in “negotiations with respect to the amount and payoff of subordinate debt,” but it did not outline any details regarding those concerns.
Since Taom Heritage first struck its deal with the HANH in June 2024, the auction date has been moved forward twice.
A passerby on Friday said people are living in the building and often throw trash outside of the broken windows. According to city spokesperson Lenny Speiller, “the city has not received any recent reports of individuals on the property,” and if any individuals were found to be living there, “the city would inform them on the need to vacate the property and work to connect them to services and emergency housing.”
Reed Community Partners and HANH did not respond to requests for comment about reports of squatting. Click here to read a previous article about squatters at the complex.
In response to claims about broken glass and trash surrounding the property, Speiller said, “As is the case with all properties, it is the responsibility of the property owner to maintain the property. However, if the owner is unresponsive to complaints and the conditions at the property represent a significant health, safety or blight issue to residents, then the city could take action to clean up the property and impose a lien.”
He continued, “LCI has not received a complaint about blight or dangerous debris at this property for some time. LCI imposed a property maintenance and board up lien on this property in March 2023. It’s our understanding that the Housing Authority will be requesting the property owner to clean up any debris that might exist around the property.”
HANH did not respond to requests for comment.
When Reed Community Partners purchased the building with plans to build 130 affordable apartments, Toni Harp was still mayor.
A sign of the building's past life as a manufacturing complex still stands.
Though the Public Works Department was around on Friday for regular street maintenance, it has not been assigned to clean up the building.