CT Homes With Crumbling Foundations Repaired Via State Aid Now At 600

HARTFORD/TOLLAND COUNTIES, CT — The efforts to repair homes ravaged by the crumbling foundation crisis in north central and eastern Connecticut have reached a milestone with No. 600 now fixed.

On Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney (CT-02) Wednesday joined Michael Maglaras, the superintendent of the Connecticut Foundations Solutions Indemnity Company and Gov. Ned Lamont in announcing the repairs.

The CFSIC was officially launched on Jan., 2019. The 600th repair was at the home of Anna Hyde in Ellington.

Maglaras said Hyde applied to the program in August 2019 and was "very patient with this process."

Maglaras added, "This is an important day in the history of CFSIC, and for Anna, and an important day for all the victims of the crumbling foundations natural disaster."

Hyde said she appreciated Maglaras calling her personally to offer congratulations.

"I have to say that the superintendent and his whole team, particularly my wonderful claim adjuster Nicole Carrozza, made this process seamless and a happy one for me. I am so grateful to the State of Connecticut and to CFSIC."

CFSIC President Steve Werbner said is has been a team effort.

"We've had great cooperation from Governor Lamont and his staff," he said. "They believe in what we’re doing, and they realize the deep economic and human impact of CFSIC’s success."

Thousands of foundations in Connecticut have been affected by a bad batch of concrete from a quarry in Stafford. The culprit is the mineral pyrrhotite, which expands when exposed to water and oxygen, causing concrete containing it to swell and crack.

The 200-repair mark was hit two years ago.

"When the crumbling foundations crisis burst in 2016, the milestone of repairing 600 homes seemed beyond reach," Courtney said. "The General Assembly, Governor Lamont and CFSIC deserve great credit for taking bold action to provide direct funding to homeowners and communities. Working closely with Mike Maglaras and CFSIC, my office ensured the IRS ruled that CFSIC grants for repairs were not taxable, and secured funding for foundations testing from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, as well as the U.S. Department of Housing and Development. There are still many homes at risk from pyrrhotite damage, and it is critical that local, state, and federal partners redouble our efforts to accomplish the mission of CFSIC, namely to stabilize the home and real estate markets in Connecticut that have been ravaged by this insidious defective concrete."

Lamont said the crumbling foundation issue has not only posed a safety concern, but it also has had the potential to be economically damaging to the northeastern region as a whole, regardless of whether your own personal home is among those that have been impacted.

"I am glad that the state has been able to partner with 600 homeowners to address this issue and help bring some security to their homes and their lives. It was the right thing to do. I appreciate Mike Maglaras and his team for what they have done at CFSIC."

Courtney said that, to date, CFSIC has paid out nearly $100 million in foundation remediations, as well as reimbursements for work already performed.

CFSIC officials estimated that they will reach the 1,000th home in the next 18 months. CFSIC has heard from more than 2,200 claimants since its launch in 2019.

To learn more about CFSIC, click here.