BRISTOL HOUSING AUTHORITY TO HOLD DEDICATION CEREMONY FOR GOVERNOR DANNEL P. MALLOY’S FIRST AFFORDABLE HOUSING INITIATIVE: DUTTON HEIGHTS REVITALIZATION

Bristol, CT, July 24, 2014 -- Dutton Heights, an 84-unit affordable housing community in Bristol, will celebrate its recent renovations with a dedication ceremony on Tuesday, July 29, 2014.Bristol Mayor Kenneth B. Cockayne will be an honored guest and will join community, state and government officials to celebrate the completion of the $15.5 Million dollar renovation.

The Dutton Heights revitalization is a joint venture between The Housing Authority of Bristol (BHA) and the Carabetta Companies, which will also manage the property.This is the first project to receive State funds from Governor Dannel P. Malloy’s special housing initiative.

The brand new 2-bedroom units include utilities, new Energy-Efficient kitchen appliances, 24-hour maintenance services and an onsite community center.The redevelopment also provides 9 apartment homes for eligible military veterans and their families with fully funded supportive services provided by the Veteran’s Administration. “In addition to providing quality housing it was important that we include those amenities that are valuable to our residents,” said Mitzy Rowe, Executive Director of BHA. “This revitalization is about more than upgrading a building, it’s about providing a place our residents are happy to call home.It’s also about affording them their dignity and promoting self-sufficiency in the community. This is a special chapter for the Bristol Housing Authority and the Carabetta Companies.”

Formerly a part of the ailing State Sponsored Moderate Rental Housing Portfolio, through this redevelopment Dutton Heights now also becomes a private housing development and will pay full real estate taxes to the City of Bristol for the first time since its construction in 1946. Funding is provided through the Department of Economic & Community Development (DECD/DOH), and the Connecticut Housing Financing Authority (CHFA) through Tax-Exempt Bonds and 4% Low Income Housing Tax Credits.

The dedication ceremony will take place at the Dutton Heights property located at 46 Woodard Drive in Bristol at 11:30 a.m. and will be followed by a luncheon on site, or at the South Side School cafeteria, in case of inclement weather.

About Bristol Housing Authority

Founded in 1943, the Housing Authority of the City of Bristol is a quasi-independent agency. The Board of Commissioners provides the authority and direction, Members that are appointed to staggered multi-year terms by the Mayor of the City of Bristol, Connecticut. BHA operates housing for elderly, non-elderly disabled persons and for families that meet the low and moderate-income criteria for the federal and state programs. The Authority provides these housing units through Federal public housing, State housing programs and the Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) program whereby applicants can seek housing within private rental housing. Our goal is to make our family developments a transitional, not a permanent, solution while supporting independent living for our senior and non-elderly disabled residents.