Hartford officials expect to hear by early 2015 if they have won a competitive designation that would prioritize three neighborhoods in Hartford’s north end for employment, education and other assistance, Mayor Pedro Segarra’s office announced.
Aimed at improving areas with high poverty, unemployment and crime, so-called Promise Zones are administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The designation brings a team of AmeriCorps members to coordinate programs and work with federal agencies and preferences for certain federal programs and assistance. President Obama has also called for Congress to approve tax incentives for businesses that invest in the zones, but that has not yet happened.
If Hartford wins the designation, officials hope to use the program to revitalize the Swift Factory, which closed a decade ago. A reuse of the building that formerly housed gold-leaf manufacturing operations could create 250 jobs and draw addition investment in housing, infrastructure, health and support services, Segarra said.
In 2012, Northeast Neighborhood Partners received a $1 million loan from the state’s Office of Brownfield Remediation and Development to help revitalize the factory.
The first Promise Zones were announced early this year in Texas, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Kentucky and Oklahoma. Federal officials expect to designate 15 more by the end of 2016.
