For Immediate Release
January 04, 2010
Contact: Elizabeth Torres
Email:Elizabeth@bntweb.org
Telephone: 203-332-7977

Bridgeport’s premiere non-profit developer of new affordable housing units is awarded $1.86 million to continue its mission.

Bridgeport: Bridgeport Neighborhood Trust (BNT) Executive Director Elizabeth Torres announced recently that BNT has received $1.86 million dollars from the State of Connecticut, Department of Economic and Community Development, Housing Trust Fund monies for the development of affordable housing while creating job opportunities in the city. The funding will be used to complete the Pequonnock Apartments Replacement Initiative and to construct the first affordable LEED certified "green" homes in Bridgeport. Torres says, "BNT is a leader in community and housing development in the City and takes the responsibility seriously. It's our mission to provide quality affordable housing for families with modest means living in Bridgeport and are pleased to get the support we need from State of Connecticut, DECD to do just that."

Projects funded:

• Pequonnock Replacement Initiative, Phase Two: $1.55 million loan for project completion. This will create 10 new public housing units targeted to families earning less than 50 percent of the area median income. Units will be renovated to like new condition and will include the remediation of environmentally hazards.
  
  
  • 4 units 547 Brooks Street
    
    
  • 6 units 212 Maplewood Avenue
    
    
  • Families displaced from the Pequonnock public housing complex will be given first priority to occupy these replacement units.
    
    
  • Upon completion of the renovation, the properties will be transferred to the Bridgeport Housing Authority for long-term management and oversight.
    
    
  • Total development cost of the project is $1.88 million (City of Bridgeport and Connecticut Housing Finance Authority make up the difference)
    
    
• Holly Street Homes Project, Bridgeport: BNT will also receive a $310,000 grant for the renovation of four low- to moderate-income housing units to be sold as two-family duplexes, each with one rental unit. Located at 128 and 149 Holly Street, these duplexes will be the first affordable “green” housing in Bridgeport and will incorporate products, technologies and systems for the homes to obtain Gold LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. The grant will be used to subsidize the construction work.
  
  
  • The total development costs are estimated at approximately $1,110,000; including $350,000 in HOME funds from Bridgeport and a construction loan in the amount of $450,000 expected to be provided by CommCap, a local community development financing organization.
    
    
  • The homes will be targeted to large families with incomes at or below 80 percent of the area median income.

BNT Background

Throughout its history, BNT’s comprehensive approach to community revitalization has made a significant impact, including the completion of over 75 units of affordable housing units leveraging over $10 million of public and private resources. Add to that another 22 units that are under construction, and 4 more in the development pipeline, representing an additional $5 million investment in the community. Executive Director Elizabeth Torres says "BNT will continue to expand its housing development to include mixed use and larger scale projects. Sustainability will be the focus of BNT's upcoming development work." BNT's development work helps families and neighborhoods by creating homes one unit at a time. By focusing on target areas in the West Side, East Side and South End, BNT augments the impact of each home it revitalizes. Every renovated house provides affordable housing for families and removes the blight of abandoned or foreclosed properties, thus helping stabilize the surrounding neighborhoods.

Other BNT Development News

• BNT's latest development project, 12 units on Lafayette Street, has started construction. This project will be both renovated and subsequently managed by BNT as affordable housing. Funding for the $2.5 million project will come from a variety of sources, including funds from the City of Bridgeport, Connecticut Housing Investment Funds, and the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority, HTCC Program, and UI.
  
  
• BNT received $500,000 in housing tax credits: $300,000 for its work on Lafayette Street and $200,000 to complete the Pequonnock Replacement Initiative.
  
  
• In addition to the positive impacts inherent in creating quality affordable housing, much of BNT's recent development work has had a larger purpose: helping the city fulfill its obligation to create 60 units to replace the former Pequonnock Apartment public housing complex. On August 31, 2009 the final 27 units on Hanover and Norman Streets were acquired and transferred to the Bridgeport Housing Authority. These units, combined with 21 apartments already completed and rented, and 12 others in construction, fulfill the long-awaited Pequonnock replacement housing settlement.

Governor M. Jodi Rell…

…says, “This funding goes toward two issues that have always been at the top of my priority list – making sure our residents have reasonably priced housing options wherever they live and making sure we generate as many jobs as possible,” Governor Rell said. “The two really go hand-in-hand. Workers need affordable places to live and raise a family; employers need workers who can make a life as well as a career in the communities they call home. We cannot have – and do not want – one without the other. “These jobs will have ripple effects throughout the economy, from restaurants to construction supply stores. The bottom line is economic development, keeping and attracting a diverse work force and establishing cities and towns that are healthy and diverse.”

Governor Rell created the $110 million Housing Trust Fund in 2005 to help create and preserve housing for low- and moderate-income working families by providing critical “gap” financing. The Department of Economic and Community Development administers the program.

Our mailing address is:
240 Fairfield Ave., 3rd Floor
Bridgeport, CT 06604

Our telephone: 203 332-7977
Our Fax: 203 579-2338

Our website: www.bntweb.org

Copyright (C) 2009 Bridgeport Neighborhood Trust. All rights reserved.

This is an American View Productions Press Release.(203 366 5033)