Fairfield native David Kooris was tapped by Gov. Ned Lamont last July to launch a new quasi-public agency armed with $60 million to incentivize multifamily housing development around mass-transit hubs and downtowns.
As of mid-April, a dozen Connecticut cities and towns had officially signed up to partner with the Connecticut Municipal Development Authority (CMDA).
The agency can help municipalities update their zoning regulations, and then offer funding for related infrastructure work, as well as low-cost financing for developers.
Kooris said he expects to begin deploying project funding before the close of this year.
Kooris began his professional career at the New York-based Regional Plan Association in 2005, focusing on development proposals around mass transit in New York and New Jersey. There, he learned to rally various constituencies around the benefits of transit-oriented development.
Kooris rose to head Regional Plan Association projects in Connecticut, before he left in 2012 to lead Bridgeport’s planning and economic development offices. Four years later, Kooris was hired as director of resilience at the state Department of Housing.
In 2018, he was appointed deputy commissioner of the state Department of Economic and Community Development.
Kooris served in that capacity for about two years, and then took a job leading Stamford’s downtown business improvement district.
He left that role to helm CMDA. Kooris also serves on the Connecticut Port Authority board.