$5.4M In State Funds Approved For Hamden Arts & Culture Project

HAMDEN, CT — The state Community Investment Fund Board has approved $5.4 million in funding for the demolition of the former Hamden Middle School and the planning of a new arts & cultural center in Hamden, according to officials.

The funding was welcomed by Hamden’s state delegation, consisting of Senate President Martin Looney (D-New Haven), Sen. Jorge Cabrera (D-Hamden) and state Representatives Mike D’Agostino (D-Hamden), Mary Welander (D-Hamden), Josh Elliott (D-Hamden), and Liz Linehan (D-Hamden), on Tuesday.

The money is from the Community Investment Fund (CIF) and members of the delegation said the positive effect of this cultural center on the community cannot be overstated.

“I am very excited that this Community Investment Fund grant is moving forward to help the residents of Hamden,” Looney said in a news release. “This former Hamden Middle School has been an issue of concern and contention for a long time. We can all see the light at the end of the tunnel with this project and will soon turn this area into a vibrant community center. I would like to thank Governor Lamont for moving this funding forward and my Hamden state delegation colleagues for their work in supporting this project.”

Read more from the news release below:

"I am grateful to the Community Investment Fund Board for approving the allocation of these funds for this important project," Cabrera said. "This arts and cultural community center carry with it the potential to serve so many in the surrounding Newhall neighborhood and provide resources they need and deserve close to home. I'm thankful for my colleagues in the delegation and the governor for their passion and work on helping to get this done and I'm very excited to see how this situation develops moving forward."

D’Agostino said, “This funding will enable the town to demolish the long abandoned old Hamden Middle School – a necessary first step in making vital improvements to the Newhall neighborhood and eventually building an Arts and Cultural Center for the community. I want to thank the Governor and his staff, as well as Commissioner Daum and her staff from the Department of Economic Development, who toured the site and recognized the need, and Mayor Garrett and her staff who had the vision for this project. We look forward to continuing to work with them all to achieve a complete transformation of the area to serve better the community.”

“I am proud to share this victory with the Town of Hamden,” Welander said. “As the newest member of the Hamden delegation, I was privileged to visit the proposed construction site of the Arts and Cultural Center in January to get the full picture of how important this revitalization is for the community. The over $5 million in funding is another step closer to completing this anticipated community hub.”

Linehan said, “I’m grateful to Governor Lamont and the Community Investment Fund, as this funding allows us to breathe new life into this blighted, vacant property and return it back to where it belongs - the Hamden community.”

“This funding will revitalize a part of Hamden that has been historically under invested,” Elliott said. “The demolition of an abandoned school will lead to jobs and growth for our community. A new Community Campus on stie will attract new and much-needed services to that neighborhood. Hamden has much to gain from this project.”

The demolition aspect of the project paves the path for total re-development of a former middle school that currently is a blighted, vacant structure within an Environmental Justice Block Group. The funding will help pay for the demolition and abatement of the structure, and additionally the proceeding community planning activities for the creation of a Community Campus on the site.

CIF grants aim to accomplish the following, per the state's website:

Promote economic or community development in the municipality where the project is located Consistently and systematically advance fair, just, and impartial treatment of all individuals, including individuals who belong to underserved and marginalized communities such as Black, Latino, and indigenous and native American persons, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and other persons of color; members of religious minorities; persons comprising the LGBTQ+ community; persons who live in rural areas; and persons otherwise adversely affected by persistent poverty or inequality.