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Luther Turmelle
David Lehman, Connecticut’s Department of Economic and Community Development commissioner, called the Stamford and New Haven areas “economic powerhouses” Tuesday, but said for the rest of the state to follow suit, more communities need to offer a broader array of housing opportunities.
Lehman made his comments during the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce’s annual Regional Real Estate and Construction forecast event, which was held at WoodWinds in Branford. He said there are 100,000 job openings in the state right now and only 50,000 people looking for work.
“We need to focus on re-energizing the workforce,” Lehman said.
One way to do that, he said, is creating more housing at a variety of prices points, including homes that are affordable for people just starting their careers.
“If you look at (annual) new housing permits, we’ve been stuck at about 4,000 for a long time,” Lehman said. “We need to be doing 10,000 to 15,000 new housing permits per year if we want to be economically relevant 10 to 15 years from now. And the type of housing needs to be broad-based.”
Lehman said he favors “using a carrot, not a stick,” in order to achieve that level of new housing development. One thing he said that has proven to be successful in Hartford is offering developers low-interest loans and other incentives to convert vacant offices into living space.
One developer who is already bullish on New Haven is Darren Seid, president and founder of Epimoni, a New York City development firm that is behind two housing project in the Elm City’s Wooster Square neighborhood.
The 299-unit Olive and Wooster Apartments, which also includes 8,000 square feet of retail, is already 40 percent leased. And Seid’s firm is currently designing a 185-unit complex at 20 Fair St., which is adjacent to the Olive and Wooster complex.
The Olive and Wooster Apartments complex includes luxury apartments as well as co-living spaces for Yale graduate students or young people starting their careers, according to Seid.
Construction of the 20 Fair St. complex is expected to start by the end of this year or during the first quarter of next year and completed in 2025, Seid said.
“The market is so robust right now,” Seid said. He said New Haven’s growing reputation as a biotechnology center, combined with the presence of Yale University, make the city an attractive place for people from outside the state to move into.
Seid said he’s researching the viability doing of other residential development projects in neighboring communities. One community Seid is especially interested in is Branford, he said.
Torrington High seniors learn about apprenticeship program
LANCE REYNOLD
TORRINGTON – Torrington High School senior Jordan Ortega said he wants to follow in his uncle’s footsteps and become an electrician.
To get his foot through the door, Ortega is hoping he gets selected for an apprenticeship program connected to the $179.5 million Torrington Middle/High School project. He applied for such an opportunity Wednesday during a construction career fair in his school’s gymnasium, where THS upperclassmen and alumni connected with electricians, boilermakers, carpenters and ironworkers.
“It will keep me on track and going forward, helping out and putting food on our family table,” Ortega said. “I want to return the favor to my family and what they gave me, and put it to good use.”
The Greater Hartford-New Britain Building Trades Council, a union that represents about 30,000 construction workers statewide, is offering pre-apprenticeships and apprenticeships through a 10-year project labor agreement the City Council approved last year.
Project officials want 25% of hired construction workers to be city residents and another 30% from Litchfield County. More than 300 city families are affiliated with the Building Trades Council, said Joe Toner, council executive director.
Those who applied Wednesday may be accepted into the trades without needing to complete a preapprenticeship to gain basic knowledge, Toner said. Completing an apprenticeship program is required before individuals work on the 310,000-square-foot, grade 7-12 school, he said.
The council is working with district officials to recruit 48 to 60 THS students or graduates per year for its apprenticeship programs through 2031, building committee Co-Chairman Ed Arum said. There will be four separate apprenticeship programs per year, with 12 to 15 students enrolled, he noted.
Torrington High School students and alumni learn about apprenticeships and preapprenticeships connected to the Torrington Middle/High School building project Wednesday during a construction career fair at Torrington High. Steven Valenti Republican-American
After the 12 to 15 students or graduates are selected, they will attend an academy in Pomfret, where they will take a 40-hour training course to learn about the building trades, Toner said. Meeting the 25% city resident threshold could regenerate about $12 million in wages and benefits in the city, he said.
The apprenticeships align with the school’s career and college pathways program, guidance counselor Ryan Dickens said.
“It is a direct connection to what we are hoping to at least tailor our program to get them directly into one of these preapprenticeship programs,” he said. “When we can boost it up on our own end, it will also boost their interest and success rate down the line.”