Ground was broken Thursday to transform one of Hartford’s last remaining North End housing projects into a thriving communal mix of owner-occupied and rental housing and commercial-retail space.
Flanked by a cluster of Westbrook Village’s derelict red-brick buildings dating to the early 1950s, city, state and federal officials joined co-developers The Cloud Co., of Hartford, and Pennrose Properties LLC, of Philadelphia, in launching the redevelopment’s first phase.
“It’s where I grew up,’’ recalled CEO Sanford Cloud Jr., an ex-state lawmaker turned realty developer-financier whose family was among Westbrook’s first residents when it opened in 1952.
The initial phase, to be completed in about 14 months, begins with building demolition, proceeding to construction of 75 attached, single-family dwellings for rent, said officials from the Housing Authority of the City of Hartford (HACH), a quasi-public agency overseeing the redevelopment.
Similar makeovers have been completed at other low-income/affordable housing communities in the city: Bowles Park and Stowe Village, in the North End; and Charter Oak and Dutch Point, in the South End.
Westbrook’s full redevelopment pricetag wasn’t disclosed. But officials said the project will be funded with state and private money, tax credits and subsidies. The state Department of Housing is providing $9 million to relocate Westbrook residents, as well as remediate, abate and demolish the entire 40-acre site at the intersection of Mark Twain Drive and Albany Avenue.
The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will provide nearly $4 million in rental subsidy for 15 years to insure the affordability of 24 units of housing, authorities said.
HACH Executive Director Annette Sanderson said most of the initial rental units will be set aside for qualified, low-income residents, with the rest earmarked for market-rate tenants, officials said.
Eventually, once all six redevelopment phases are complete, Westbrook Village will comprise about 400 living units.
JDA Development also is partnering with Cloud Co. and Pennrose to develop Westbrook’s commercial-retail component. JDA is best known as the developer of West Hartford’s wildly successful Blue Back Square residential-commercial complex in the heart of town.
