Hartford Mayor Eddie A. Perez said today he will seek $70 million in federal funds for “shovel-ready” infrastructure projects, including schools and a new police station, that would stimulate jobs and the city’s economic redevelopment.
Perez said he is responding to President-Elect Barack Obama’s January proposal for reviving jobs in “Main Street” America by making federal money available to states that have infrastructure projects already approved and permitted, which await funds to get started.
Gov. M. Jodi Rell has ordered a similar list of projects compiled statewide and ready to submit to Washington when the Obama administration and Congress take over in January.
The mayor’s economic stimulus package, dubbed “Hartford Now,” drew praise from Congressman John Larson and from the office of Sen. Chris Dodd.
“You can’t get much more ‘Main Street’ than sending a list from one of the poorest cities in America in one of the richest states in the country,” Perez said in a news release.
The $85 million planned public safety complex on High Street would be “shovel ready” in 90 days and could create more than 800 jobs, he said.
In addition to renovating schools, he said, upgrading Hartford City Hall and two city buildings on Jennings Road with new energy management, heating and cooling systems, and new windows would create another 500 jobs.
Installing commuter streetscapes along Albany, Farmington, and Wethersfield avenues would create 800 additional jobs, Perez said.
Finally, Perez said the city will ask for $7 million to implement a new job training program for city residents.
