Officials, dignitaries and developers broke ground Tuesday on a roughly $80 million, 180-unit mixed-use, mixed-income apartment project in downtown Naugatuck.
Philadelphia-based Pennrose and Hartford-based The Cloud Co. hosted local and state officials on a 7-acre former industrial site, where construction is underway on the first of three 60-unit buildings. The development will ultimately feature more than 7,000 square feet of commercial space and a new public greenspace for the broader community.
“The Pennrose mixed-use project marks a turning point for our downtown — where new housing units, restaurants and walkable streets come together to create a vibrant destination,” Naugatuck Mayor N. Warren “Pete” Hess said. “We’re not just building housing; we’re building opportunity, energy and long-term value for our entire town.”
The development site is located along Old Firehouse Road, with one side bounded by the Naugatuck River. A government-led effort remediated environmental contaminants on the site before the property’s recent $600,000 sale to the developers, said Karmen Cheung, Pennrose’s regional vice president for New England.
The Pennrose-Cloud team was selected by Naugatuck officials to redevelop the property through a request-for-proposal process. Pennrose was drawn to the city’s proactive and sustained push for revitalization, Cheung said.
“The local leadership has a desire to densify and create a walkable downtown,” Cheung said. “Those are the kinds of communities we think we will continue to see grow. There is a lot of activity going on and that is a beacon for us that this is a place worth investing in.”
The project is being financed through a mix of federal low-income housing tax credits, a loan from the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority, funding from the state departments of Housing and Developmental Services, the Federal Home Loan banks of Boston and New York, and a construction loan shared by Ion Bank and M&T Bank.
Cheung estimated the first building will cost about $26 million, with later phases expected to face typical cost increases. The four-story, wood-framed buildings will be constructed on grade slabs and include elevators.