Mayor Bronin, Rep. Ritter, Residents Celebrate Willow Creek

A new era in mixed-income housing in Hartford was celebrated Tuesday, July 9, with a ribbon cutting at the opening of the $50 million Willow Creek Apartments. Residents, including those who once lived in the Bowles Park public housing complex that was formerly on the Willow Creek site, joined Hartford Mayor Bronin, Rep. Matt Ritter, and other public officials, developers and supporters. The event, which was hosted by the Housing Authority of the City of Hartford and JHM Financial Group, marks the end of phase one of a larger, multi-year, multi-million-dollar project that began in 2017.

During the event, residents and supporters were able to tour some of the 105 mixed-income rental apartment homes that now make up Willow Creek. When fully complete, the project will include up to 400 apartments, replacing nearly all of the 410 units in the original Bowles Park. The final 61-acre Willow Creek community will blend into the balance of the Blue Hills neighborhood and will include all new street patterns and streetscapes.

“Willow Creek is a paradigm of what can happen through public-private partnerships,” said Todd D. McClutchy of JHM Financial Group, a member of the redevelopment partnership. “It demonstrates the all of the benefits of the public and private sectors working together to address common societal issues in a manner that results in a better, stronger community. In the case of Willow Creek, we have addressed a long-festering problem of inadequate housing that has for decades adversely affected not only the families living at Bowles Park, but the entire neighborhood. The investment that has been made here is the beginning of creating assets that build and grow the entire community.”

Connecticut House Majority Leader Matt Ritter (D-Hartford) said he viewed Willow Creek as an investment in the people of Hartford.

“The redevelopment of the old Bowles Park apartments into this beautiful Willow Creek community was a public/private team effort,” said Rep. Ritter. “I want to thank my colleagues in the Hartford Delegation for their work on this project as well as the residents, neighbors, city, developers and financial backers who made Willow Creek a reality.”

Additional guests at the event included Marilyn Rossetti, Chair, HACH Board of Commissioners, Seila Mosquera-Bruno, CT Dept. of Housing Commissioner, Ms. Rose Price, new Willow Creek resident and former Bowles Park resident, as well as Annette Sanderson Executive Director of the Housing Authority of the City of Hartford.

“It was a great day for the development, the residents, and the City of Hartford,” said Sanderson. “Willowcreek furthers our mission to provide safe, decent and affordable high-quality housing and homeownership choices to our residents and will create an economic catalyst for the Blue Hills neighborhood.”

With headquarters in Stamford, Conn., the JHM Group is a fully integrated firm involved in all aspects of the real estate and renewable energy industries including finance, development, construction, and asset and property management. For more than 40 years, JHM has ensure success in these areas by developing expertise in real estate and energy laws, rules and regulations, zoning, market analysis, construction, engineering, management, operations and finance.