🔒A year in, Kooris’ CMDA sets stage for wave of transit-oriented projects

When 2025 began, David Kooris was expected to play a major role in reshaping how some Connecticut communities approve and finance dense housing.

A year later, he has built a new state agency from the ground up, secured buy-in from dozens of municipalities, and begun laying the groundwork for major transit-oriented development projects across the state — efforts backed by $90 million in bonding approved by lawmakers to boost high-density housing in downtowns and near rapid bus and rail stations.

Kooris was tapped by Gov. Ned Lamont in July 2024 to launch and lead the Connecticut Municipal Development Authority (CMDA), a new quasi-public agency tasked with helping cities and towns advance large-scale redevelopment. He brings extensive experience in economic development, including nearly two years as a deputy commissioner with the state Department of Economic and Community Development.

Over the past year and a half, the veteran planner has focused on assembling the agency — creating programs, hiring staff, recruiting consultants and persuading towns to participate.

As of late November, 32 communities had agreed to join CMDA, with 11 completing all steps to establish development districts eligible for funding. Kooris said he eventually expects about 50 municipalities to participate.

The authority can issue low-interest loans to help developers close funding gaps and make projects viable. It can also help pave the way for development by assisting with zoning changes and helping communities obtain grants for brownfield cleanup, demolition or infrastructure upgrades.

Developers in Waterbury, Enfield, Avon, New London, Norwich, New Haven and other communities have begun early talks with CMDA, although no formal funding applications had been submitted as of mid-November. Kooris expects the first proposals to be submitted before the end of 2025.

“We have some very interested and eager applicants who are getting their stuff together, so they will be very ready when we are too,” he said.

‘Need for subsidy’

Kooris is a familiar figure in Connecticut’s development circles. Before joining state government, he led Connecticut operations for the Regional Plan Association, a role that brought him from New York to Stamford and deepened his work on land-use and transportation issues.

He later headed Bridgeport’s planning and economic development offices, gaining firsthand experience with the barriers that stall housing production in older urban centers. That experience followed senior roles in state government — including director of resilience at the Department of Housing and deputy DECD commissioner — and a stint running Stamford’s downtown business improvement district.

Kooris said the financing hurdles CMDA is designed to address are not new to him. In Bridgeport, for example, he saw how strong housing demand often failed to turn into viable projects.

“I would characterize Bridgeport’s challenge as not dissimilar to other participating cities,” Kooris said. “There is increasing demand for housing, but it’s not at the rents that are necessary to support construction without subsidy. And we need housing that is affordable for the workforce in the area. So, there’s just a basic need for subsidy to make new construction or renovation possible beyond what a bank is willing to lend.”

Bridgeport — along with New Haven and Manchester — was among the latest cities to have its memorandum of agreement approved by CMDA, formalizing its participation in creating development districts near major transit hubs and in downtown areas.

Coordinating and permitting role

Kooris emphasized that CMDA’s role goes beyond financing. The agency is working with consultants to analyze development and market potential around every train and rapid-bus station in Connecticut, helping municipalities identify zoning or infrastructure constraints and develop strategies to remove barriers.

In some cases, that means improving public communication with residents or updating zoning rules; in others, it may involve utility, transportation or wastewater upgrades. CMDA’s analyses can also help towns compete for state and federal grants.

“I think a big part of our purpose is to realize what is holding each community back from their goals,” Kooris said.

The agency is also working to streamline permitting by collaborating with state and federal regulators to preapprove certain traffic or stormwater impacts in select districts — reducing delays without sacrificing community input or environmental review.

“It just can be done in a different way that front-loads as much of that as possible, so that when a developer comes in, they are implementing a preapproved vision, rather than vetting that project as the vision,” he said.

Kooris expects lawmakers to continue to add funding for development incentives in the coming years. But he believes the authority’s ability to coordinate across local, state and federal agencies — and to create predictable, streamlined conditions for development — will ultimately prove more impactful.

“I’m thinking a lot about the way in which we will evolve as an organization over the course of the next several years,” he said. “I think, over time, our direct funding role becomes less and less important, and our coordinating and permitting role becomes more and more important.”