Key Vote Slated For West Hartford Senior/Disabled Housing Expansion

WEST HARTFORD, CT — Town council action that could pave the way for expansion of a large senior housing complex in town was delayed Jan. 10, but it will likely happen Tuesday, Jan. 24.

On Jan. 10, the West Hartford Town Council voted unanimously to postpone any action on a new lease for the complex that would allow its operators, West Hartford Fellowship Housing Inc., to seek funding for a major expansion.

It did so to give the West Hartford Plan & Zoning Commission more time to review the proposal, which it did Jan. 12 at a special meeting.

Tuesday's West Hartford Town Council meeting is at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 24, at West Hartford Town Hall, 50 S. Main St.

The town council is mulling a new lease for the large, nonprofit elderly/disabled housing complex and, in doing so, it will help the facility expand and improve existing services.

At 10-50 Starkel Road, the nonprofit WHFH operates a 169-unit affordable rental housing campus for elderly and mobility-impaired individuals on town-owned property.

It's been doing that for more than five decades and is currently operating on a 75-year lease that dates to November 1968 with the town.

WHFH has plans to expand the amount of units there by 50 percent, as well as update the existing units by improving accessibility, creating program areas and program spaces and improving security and safety there.

In order to get grant funding for this, however, WHFH needs to create a new corporate entity — the WHFH Development Corp. — and secure a new, long-term lease with the town.

As a result, with town approval, WHFH would extend its current lease by 99 years.

From Dec. 8: 'West Hartford Senior/Disabled Housing Complex Plans Big Expansion'