PLEASE TAKE A MINUTE AND SEND AN EMAIL TO YOUR REPRESENTATIVE IN THE STATE HOUSE
TIME IS RUNNING OUT AND THE LEGISLATURE HAS TO ACT SOON!
$4.3 BILLION OF PROJECTS ARE AT STAKE!...
USE THIS LINK
TIME IS RUNNING OUT AND THE LEGISLATURE HAS TO ACT SOON!
$4.3 BILLION OF PROJECTS ARE AT STAKE!...
USE THIS LINK
Transportation Campaign Links
Developers say demand for commercial, residential development in New Haven area is strong
BRANFORD — Three leading commercial and residential real estate developers said Tuesday they are bullish on the New Haven area’s prospects for growth.
David Salinas, real estate developer and co-founder of Digital Surgeons in New Haven, said because of the presence of Yale University, the city has an international reputation.
“Our brand here is so big, is so strong,” Salinas said during a panel discussion at the 2018 Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce Regional Real Estate Forum, held Tuesday afternoon at the Woodwinds Wedding and Event Venue. “We call people all over the world and they have heard of New Haven.”
Digital Surgeons helps client companies switch their marketing and promotion from traditional channels such as print and broadcast advertising to digital, social and mobile channels. While the New Haven area has a high recognition value internationally, Salinas said one of the attractive things about it is as “a place where you can start something and be really successful.”Salinas said he essentially started Digital Surgeons with a $5,000 line of credit from a bank.
“You couldn’t do that in Boston or New York City,” he said. “The cost of entry there is much greater.”
In addition to running Digital Surgeons, Salinas has spent the last two years overseeing the creation of $25 million technology business hub know as The District. Built in a renovated Connecticut Transit bus garage at the corner of James and State streets, part of the District is already open, Salinas said. Digital Surgeons is one of the anchor tenants of The District.
While Salinas is busy trying to bolster New Haven’s reputation as a technology hub, another member of the panel, developer Juan Salas-Romer, is focused on trying to increase the selection of multi-family housing space in the region. As president and chief executive officer of the NHR Group, Salas-Romer is involved in a number of commercial and residential real estate deals.
NHR Group’s latest effort is called Heights on The River, a multi-family residential development on East Grand Avenue in the city’s Fair Haven section.
“Multi-family housing is popular right now, but much of it is focused on the high end,” Salas-Romer said. “Our focus is on the middle class because we felt it is underserved.”
While Salas-Romer is trying to get Heights on The River built in New Haven, developer Louis Tagliatela Jr. has another multi-family development in full construction in neighboring Hamden. Tagliatela’s Franklin Communities has already built about half of the 393 units in its Canal Crossing at Whitneyville West complex on Mather Street.
Tagliatela said part of the reason that apartment living is attractive to members of the millennial generation is because of their life experiences. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Pacific House to build new affordable housing units in Stamford
STAMFORD — While the city has made strides in recent years, homelessness remains a problem in the area.Pacific House Executive Director Rafael Pagan said there are many ways to address the issue, but the most effective method is to provide housing and services so they can get back on their feet. That’s why Pacific House, a Stamford nonprofit homeless assistance organization, is again expanding its affordable housing program, aiming to add a fifth building in Stamford by the end of the year.
Pagan said Pacific House has partnered with the city to develop a Stillwater Avenue plot near Stamford Hospital. The plan, he said, is to build a six-unit apartment building consisting of four, one-bedroom units and two, two-bedroom units, that could house at least eight people.
On Tuesday, Pacific House celebrated the groundbreaking of the Janie Wilson House, named for the matriarch of a longstanding Stamford family.“For us to house someone, it costs about $25,000 a year, and that saves the community and taxpayers $50,000 to $75,000 for every individual we house per year,” Pagan said. “Moreover, that person is much more stable. He or she is becoming, or working to become, a contributing member of society. They’re paying taxes and they are more likely to utilize medical insurance and local health care offices. So, it’s a big shift that is a lot less costly to society as a whole and it often results in much better outcomes for the individuals.”
Pagan said Pacific House is already operating three affordable housing buildings in Stamford on Spruce, Ann and Berkley streets. A fourth building is under construction on Richmond Hill Avenue and is expected to open in June.
It’s no secret housing in Stamford is expensive, Pagan said, with many properties priced too high for those struggling to make ends meet.
“The average housing prices in Stamford are targeted at folks making $85,000 to $115,000,” he said. “Most people don’t make anywhere near that, especially those who are working in say the retail or service industries. The disparity of income is tremendous, and if you look at the South End, with all that development taking place, studio apartments starting at $2,000 — who can afford that?”
Pagan said the area’s high cost of living is also a concern for local businesses whose employees may not be able to afford living nearby, creating challenges in workforce retention.
According to the most recent data available from the January 2017 Point-in-Time count, 253 people were found homeless — 80 of them children — in the Stamford-Greenwich area.
Pagan said Pacific House provides permanent housing for nearly 65 formerly homeless people. Tenants pay 30 percent of their income in rent, he said, and each unit comes already furnished and includes utilities and cable. Tenants only have to be homeless to qualify for housing, he added.
With the completion of the Richmond Hill building and this new project, Pagan projected the program should provide housing for 96 people by the end of the year.
In addition to housing, Pagan said Pacific House provides support services for its tenants such as case management, employment and health care assistance, and help getting benefits such as Social Security or food stamps. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Bridgeport lawmakers say not enough time to pass casino bill
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Connecticut lawmakers hoping to see a casino built someday in Bridgeport said Tuesday they have decided to stop pushing for legislation in the final hours of the session that seeks proposals from casino developers.
Democratic Rep. Steven Stafstrom of Bridgeport acknowledged the prospects of the bill being called and voted on in the Senate "are tough, given the hour." The General Assembly adjourns at midnight Wednesday. He said a coalition of legislators from Bridgeport and New Haven plan to advocate for the bill again in the next legislative session, which begins in January.
"We're excited about where we've brought this this year and we think it gives us some real momentum going into the 2019 session," said Stafstrom, adding how many state Capitol observers had doubted the legislation would be called this year for a public hearing, never mind clearing the House of Representatives on a 77-73 vote last week.
The two-part bill requires the commissioners of Consumer Protection and Economic and Community Development to develop and issue a request for proposals from casino developers. Those responses, which would include everything from a market analysis to designs and a construction timeline, would be due by Jan. 1, 2019. The state agencies would then evaluate the proposals and present them to the state Legislature for a possible vote, although one is not required under the bill.
But southeastern Connecticut lawmakers warned that issuing a request for proposals, or RFP, would put Connecticut on track to risk its long-standing relationship and revenue-sharing agreement with the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes, which own and operate Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun. Connecticut receives 25 percent of the casino slot machine revenues in return for the tribes having exclusive rights to certain forms of gambling. If a new casino is ultimately approved, that agreement ends.
Advocates of the RFP process felt emboldened this session to push for the legislation because a satellite casino proposed by the two tribes has been delayed, pending federal approvals. That delay is being investigated by the Department of Interior's inspector general office.
The General Assembly last year approved legislation that gave the tribes the initial go-ahead for that project, in hopes of protecting existing casino jobs from competition posed by a new MGM Resorts casino that is opening this summer in Springfield, Massachusetts. Democratic Sen. Cathy Osten of Sprague, who strongly opposes the casino RFP bill, said she had several amendments at the ready if the legislation was called for a vote in the Senate.
"I think it's philosophically a breach of contract," she said of the bill. "We just passed a bill last year. To come after it this year, to me, was bad form."
MGM has been lobbying heavily for the RFP bill this session. The casino giant said it will be back next year, encouraged the legislation had cleared the House.