A development partnership has broken ground on a new 45-unit affordable senior housing community on the grounds of a religious community in Enfield.
The Community Builders, the Felician Sisters and their partners are collaborating on the project, called Angela Gardens.
It will utilize the former St. Felix Center, a long-vacant building on the Sisters’ campus, to create 41 one-bedroom apartments and four studio apartments.
The development will consist of the existing three-story brick building and the construction of a three-story addition.
The Felician Sisters say the numbers in their community living on campus has declined over time, meaning several buildings have become vacant and underutilized. The order says the redevelopment of the St. Felix Center allows them to continue their religious mission while addressing a need for affordable housing in the community.
Funding for Angela Gardens comes in part from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) through its Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly Program; the Connecticut Department of Housing; and Low-Income Housing Tax Credits allocated by the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority and syndicated by Boston Financial.
“Angela Gardens is an example of leveraging existing properties and oftentimes beautiful spaces to create much needed quality housing for seniors in our state,” said Seila Mosquera-Bruno, the commissioner of the state Department of Housing.
The Felician Sisters are an international religious congregation founded in Poland in 1855 by Blessed Mother Angela Truszkowska. Angela Gardens is named for their founder.
A recent bill considered by the Connecticut legislature would have facilitated the approval process for affordable housing development on land belonging to religious organizations.
Known as “Yes in God’s backyard” or YIGBY, the legislation proposed a faster summary review of such developments at the local level.
