Housing authority addresses need for additional units

WINSTED — When Winchester Housing Authority Executive Director Fred Newman started on the job nine years ago, there were six families on the waiting list for housing here in the Laurel City. Today, there are 144, and the need for more units continues to grow, he told selectmen Tuesday.

“We are on a course to add more senior housing downtown and that course has involved a pledge to sell property to the housing authority’s development corporation,� Newman said in a public request for tax abatements on two proposed housing projects on Gay Street. The housing director noted that lenders are looking to the town “to see how sincere you are...in the form of some sort of an abatement.�

Newman said properties at 19, 21 and 23 Gay St. have been offered for sale to the Winchester Housing Authority Development Corporation in the hope of creating more age-restricted housing. The housing authority plans to start with 14 one- and two-bedroom units at those properties and follow up with as many as 16 units in a Phase Two project at 27 Gay St.

Tax abatements for such projects are common, Newman noted. “In 2002, I appeared before this board on the course towards Laurel Commons and asked for an abatement for taxes there,� he said, referring to another Gay Street project which was successfully completed. “This was certified Feb. 20, 2002.�

Newman said the new request for a tax abatement would be “very similar,� with the housing authority hoping to allow owners to pay current taxes on their homes and see their tax increases limited to 3 percent per year.

With a growing senior population, Newman said the town is in need of expanded housing for the elderly, but he also noted that Winchester Housing Authority projects help the local economy. “We’re trying to pay our way as we go forward,� he said. “We’re trying to make a not-so-nice-looking piece of property better and we’re trying to provide customers for downtown.� Newman said owners of local stores including the Winsted Super Saver IGA, Beacon Pharmacy and ABC Pizza, have all expressed support for him to “keep going� and bring more foot traffic to their businesses.

Newman said the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is on board with the proposed projects and that Northwest Community Bank and the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority are expected to contribute to the effort. Since the two new projects each come in at less than $5 million, the USDA will be able to approve the project through its district office in Windsor Locks, rather than requiring approval from Washington.

Members of the Board of Selectmen were receptive to Newman, indicating that they believe a tax abatement proposal could be drawn up within the next two weeks and presented at the next board meeting.

“I’m 100 percent behind this,� said Selectman Michael Renzullo. “I think anything we can do to revitalize the downtown area is good. Let’s draft it and pass it.�

Town Manager Keith Robbins said he believes a tax abatement proposal can be drawn up by the next meeting of the Board of Selectmen on Sept. 15, at which time the board can vote to approve the measure.

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