contributed photo
Rendering of 410 Orchard St., one of the two new developments to be built by GDDC.
City officials, state lawmakers, and local nonprofit leaders gathered at the corner of Edgewood and Orchard Thursday morning to celebrate a $9 million state boost to various affordable housing developments across town.
The city recognized the grant recipients at a press conference at 410 Orchard St., one of the two sites where the Greater Dwight Development Corporation (GDDC) will build affordable housing. The space will also be shared by the Firebirds Society of Greater New Haven, which promotes recruitment and retention of Black and Hispanic firefighters in the city’s fire department.
The $9 million from the state comes thanks to an investment fund established to promote economic and community development in historically underserved communities across Connecticut.
The biggest Community Investment Fund grant celebrated on Thursday is $6,121,390 to GDDC for phase two of its Greater Dwight Community Building Initiative, which will yield 11 units of affordable housing and operating space for local nonprofits across two housing developments.
The other three selected organizations are Mary Wade Foundation for $700,000, Mount Hope Temple Church for $250,000, and United Way of Greater New Haven for $2,000,000.
Mary Wade Foundation of Mary Wade Home, a senior care organization serving low-income seniors, will use those funds for a major renovation of its Boardman Residential Care Home to “address safety concerns and improve living conditions.”
Mount Hope Temple, which runs the Mount Hope Recovery Center Food Pantry, will use its money to increase the number of families it serves per month and operate a cooling/warming shelter for the homeless.
Finally, United Way of Greater New Haven (UWGNH) will be working in collaboration with Beacon Communities and Columbus House to support State & Chapel, a 76-unit “mixed-income, mixed-use, transit-oriented housing project” downtown that has begun excavation. (Read about a local historian’s efforts to look beneath the site here.)
This is the Community Investment Fund’s (CIF) sixth round of funding grants, out of a projected 10-round plan to distribute a total of $875 million. The GDDC applied five times before being selected this round.
“The funding will help revitalize this corner of the Dwight neighborhood and bring necessary services, such as affordable housing,” said GDDC Board President Anne Demchak. She also highlighted the “mentorship through the Firebird Society” that is set to begin for young people once the organization moves into 410 Orchard.
New Haven State Sen. and President Pro Tem Martin Looney was also in attendance at Thursday’s press conference. Looney, who chairs the CIF, said that there are 55 communities overall in the state that are identified as “needy” and that can apply for grants. He noted that he and the New Haven delegation of the state legislature recognize that “there has to be a strong partnership between the cities of this state, and the state itself.”
“This is truly, truly a blessing. It gives us an opportunity to make an impact in our community,” said Mount Hope Temple Church Pastor Robert Kinney, who spoke of the church’s plans to expand its food pantry and open a cooling/warming shelter. “That’s one of the things as a church that we stand for in a community, and that is helping our neighbor. We believe in feeding those who are hungry and clothing those who need clothes.”