After months of planning and review, the six municipalities are expected to join the Connecticut Municipal Development Authority.
Developers planning multifamily housing in downtown areas or near mass-transit hubs in Waterbury, Enfield, Norwich, Avon, Torrington and New London can now apply to a $90 million pool of state incentives.
After months of planning and review, agreements outlining target districts in each community were ratified at a Thursday afternoon meeting of the Connecticut Municipal Development Authority (CMDA) board.
This relatively new state agency was created to help communities plan and finance redevelopment around transit centers and central business districts. The agency has been allocated state bond funds to support these projects.
Naugatuck and Derby were the first to see their target district boundaries approved, in an Oct. 6 meeting of the CMDA board. Agreements engineered with the six additional communities were approved by the CMDA board on Thursday.
CMDA offers a range of support to its partner municipalities, including technical assistance to align zoning with the goal of dense multifamily development. The authority can also provide grants for demolition, brownfield cleanup and infrastructure improvements needed to advance housing projects.
Most significantly, it can extend low-interest loans to developers to fill financing gaps. Additional state bonding is expected once the initial $90 million is expended.
Waterbury Mayor Paul Pernerewski said the state initiative aligns closely with the city’s long-term effort to revitalize its downtown through apartment development and major infrastructure investments. The city has spent tens of millions of local, state and federal dollars upgrading underground utilities and streetscapes downtown.
“This is exactly what we have been trying to accomplish down here for a while, and this is a great opportunity to help us get developers interested in Waterbury,” Pernerewski said.
Waterbury officials believe CMDA participation could help unlock redevelopment of key vacant downtown properties, including the 145,656-square-foot former Sovereign Bank complex on West Main Street and the 70,000-square-foot former train station that most recently housed the Republican-American newspaper.
At least 26 Connecticut municipalities have engaged with CMDA already. The roll of communities eligible for CMDA funding is expected to rapidly grow.
At Thursday's meeting, CMDA Executive Director David Kooris said he anticipates ratification of five to six agreements with communities at each upcoming meeting.
