Hartford Scores Big With State Community Investment Funds

State of Connecticut

HARTFORD, CT — Three Hartford projects recently received a slice of a $99 million pie in funding to support community investments in socioeconomically challenged municipalities.

Subscribe

Gov. Ned Lamont, Senate President Pro Tempore Martin M. Looney (D-New Haven), and Speaker of the House Matt Ritter (D-Hartford) said the State Bond Commission has approved the release of $99 million in state funding to support the second round of grants under the Community Investment Fund 2030, a grant program established in 2022 to support economic development in historically underserved communities across Connecticut.

The Community Investment Fund 2030 is administered by the state Department of Economic and Community Development and overseen by a 21-member board that is co-chaired by Looney and Ritter.

Eligible projects include capital improvements, such as those focused on affordable housing, brownfield remediation, infrastructure and public facilities, as well as small business support programs that provide revolving loans, gap financing, microloans or start-up financing.

“The Community Investment Fund was established last year to improve the economic vibrancy of historically underserved neighborhoods,” Lamont said. “Over the next several years, this program will be responsible for providing an incredible amount of opportunities for Connecticut’s cities and towns to revitalize their economic base and chart a path of equitable growth.”

“This bonding from the Community Investment Fund builds upon the first round of funding and furthers our goal of creating lasting results for Connecticut,” Looney said. “We cannot address systemic poverty and inequality without making the necessary investments in underserved communities.”

Said Ritter: “It is wonderful to see municipalities put together strong applications that have local community buy-in and can serve as a catalyst for change in these cities and towns.”

This second round of grants supports 28 projects from 20 municipalities.

The three project in Hartford are:

• “Northwest Boys & Girls Renovation” for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Hartford, Inc.

$1.6 milion to enable the renovation of 18,000 square feet of space featuring amenities designed to provide Hartford youth with services including classroom space, makerspace/technology lab, learning center, gymnasium, art space and indoor hydroponic garden.

The project will allow the award recipient to expand its programmatic offerings and number of youths served in after-school, weekend and summer programming.

• “Hart Is Where the Home Is” for the City of Hartford

$4.57 million to fund an element of the city’s proposal to create a city-wide homeownership program through in-fill housing and rehabilitation of existing housing stock.

The Round 2 grant will fund pre-development and design of homeownership units for income-eligible buyers at Mary Shepard Place in the Clay-Arsenal neighborhood.

• “Purchase of 333 Homestead Avenue”

$1.5 million to be used by Upper Albany NRZ towards the acquisition of the Salvation Army facility at 333 Homestead Ave.

The agency is exploring several potential uses for the final development including senior housing, intergenerational programming and a farmer-fresh produce retail market.

Additional information on the Community Investment Fund 2030 is available on its website at portal.ct.gov/communityinvestmentfund.