Free Daily Headlines :

  • COVID-19
  • Money
  • Election 2020
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Health
  • Justice
  • More
    • Environment
    • Economic Development
    • Gaming
    • Investigations
    • Social Services
    • TRANSPORTATION
  • Opinion
    • CT Viewpoints
    • CT Artpoints
DONATE
Reflecting Connecticut’s Reality.
    COVID-19
    Money
    Election 2020
    Politics
    Education
    Health
    Justice
    More
    Environment
    Economic Development
    Gaming
    Investigations
    Social Services
    TRANSPORTATION
    Opinion
    CT Viewpoints
    CT Artpoints

LET�S GET SOCIAL

Show your love for great stories and out standing journalism

In Hartford, a model for sustainable housing

  • by Uma Ramiah
  • November 7, 2011
  • View as "Clean Read" "Exit Clean Read"

At the corner of Asylum and High streets, on the western edge of downtown Hartford, an 83-year-old building was rescued, renovated and filled with tenants. Now, some say, it represents Hartford’s most promising way forward in sustainable housing.

This is the Hollander Building. Reopened in 2009 as mixed income housing, it faced being turned into a parking lot before non-profit and historical preservationists advocated successfully for its survival. Now, two and a half years later, its 70 apartments are full, and it’s financially self-sufficient.

hollander

The Hollander

“It’s a model for what ought to be done in all of Hartford,” said David Fink, policy and communications director for the Partnership for Strong Communities. “A mixed income configuration where people earning a fair income are living with people with low and moderate incomes–and it works out.”

The Hollander’s units include studios, one and two-bedroom units. Fourteen of the two-bedrooms are market rate apartments, with rents ranging from $1500 to $1600 a month. The remaining 56 are tax credit units–meaning they’re available at a lower, fixed price and only to people earning less than 60 percent of the area’s median income. They go for, at most, $900 a month.

“This is the start of a new generation of building projects,” said Rosanne Haggerty, president of Community Solutions and founder of the non-profit Common Ground–two organizations responsible for the project. “The Hollander represents a number of firsts for the city.”

The building, perhaps best known as the former home of the city’s Steinway piano store, was purchased by the Hollander family in the 1990s as part of a development project. Their plans to demolish it for parking were thwarted by the city and preservationists.

“That opened the door to the Hollander family ultimately donating the building to us as affordable housing,” Haggerty said.

This type of mixed income housing hadn’t been attempted in Hartford in more than 25 years, she said.

Haggerty and Common Ground leveraged a number of different funding sources for the project. Subsidies totaling $26 million came from low income housing tax credits, federal and state historic tax credits, the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority and the City of Hartford. After 18 months of renovation, the building opened to its first tenants. LEED certified, it boasts Hartford’s first green roof, along with underground parking

“It was a complicated process, but great to see all these pieces come together,” Haggerty said.

So what’s gone in to making The Hollander a success? “Those of us who do this sort of work are not surprised,” said Fink. For one, the mixed income aspect of the building makes it a more sustainable endeavor than many low-income housing projects. Tenants paying market rates subsidize the lower rents, allowing the building to be financially sustainable.

“The mistake we made post World War II is that we made 100 percent of the units affordable for low income people–so the developments lacked that income stream,” he said.

Then there’s The Hollander’s proximity to transit lines: bus and train, each within a few blocks of the building.

“An average household in the U.S. spends 32 percent of its budget on housing. The next 19 percent is on transport,” said Fink. “But if you live in a transport rich area like The Hollander, it’s only 9 percent of your budget.”

The frees up a good chunk of a household budget for other uses. So it makes economic sense to place low and moderate income housing near transit lines, Fink said. He called it a boon for employers willing to locate near rail lines: skilled workers able to move up and down the line with ease and efficiency.

And a project like The Hollander requires hands-on management — in this case provided by Sharon Gower of Community Solutions, the building’s manager.

“We work with people probably more than most landlords,” Gowen said. “But there’s really no big secret to this. If you make something clean and safe and responsive to the needs of the community, people will want to live there.”

Gowen, who’s been with Community Solutions from its inception, said that creating a safe environment starts with the tenants. Each applicant is carefully screened for eligibility using background checks and credit reports. They also meet with a staff member in person.

“Everyone is interviewed,” said Gowen. “That’s our first line of defense.”

Then there’s the security. The Hollander is locked, and all guests and visitors must be buzzed into the building’s front door on Asylum Street by an employee or tenant. A security guard keeps watch overnight, when all visitors are required to sign in, say who they’re visiting and provide ID. And security cameras are placed in and outside of the building.

“We’ve had no problems with either violence or break-ins since we opened,” Gowen confirmed.

What they’ve also done well, Fink said, is take care of a well-restored building. “It looks as good today as it did when they opened a few years ago. They pay attention to the way the building looks.”

And while there are rules to follow — no smoking, regular apartment inspections, tenants aren’t expected to be perfect.

“You get a second chance on certain things,” she said. “When necessary, we offer payment plans for rent, and we really try to avoid taking people to court for any reason. And actually, we’ve been very successful.”

hollander fitzpatrick

Hollander tenant Tom Fitzpatrick: ‘This is the best move I could have made’

Tom Fitzpatrick retired from the Marine Corps and worked in insurance in Hartford for thirty years. At 76, he now lives in one of The Hollander’s two-bedroom tax credit units, at a reduced rent.

“This is the best move I could have made,” said Fitzpatrick, who for years shared a house with six roommates in East Hartford before moving into The Hollander three months after it opened. Fitzpatrick said he appreciates the building’s amenities and it’s proximity to Bushnell Park.

“I like to walk around downtown, and I’m already right here,” he said. “And if I want to hop on a bus to Boston or Hartford, it’s no problem.”

Fitzpatrick said he appreciates the diversity of the building, and knows most of his neighbors. “They’re careful about who they let in,” he said. “But they also take good care of their tenants, and the building.”

A need for housing

A report published by the Partnership for Strong Communities finds that in 2010 in Connecticut, the state’s “housing wage,” or the salary needed to afford rent for an average two-bedroom apartment, was sixth highest in the U.S. That housing wage is marked at $23.37 per hour, while only about half of the state’s occupations offer that level of compensation. The Hollander’s tenants are a mix of income levels and occupational fields. Amongst others there are two childcare providers along with six disabled vets, a hair stylist, non-profit workers, students and transportation employees. Some are in market-rate apartments, most in tax credit units.

“These people are doing jobs that make other people’s lives easier,” said Gowen, who knows her tenants (and many of their dogs) by name. “They can’t all afford to pay high market rates for a prime apartment downtown. But our philosophy is that everyone should have access to these kinds of homes.”

As for the market rate tenants? “They were attracted by the location, and the building, really.”

With affordable housing needs at an all time high — the wait for Low Income Public Housing Programs in Hartford is more than a year, and longer in New Haven — projects like The Hollander can provide much needed spaces for low income families and individuals.

Proponents of mixed income housing say there are many more opportunities to replicate this project in Hartford. The Hollander family recently gifted the other building across the street at 370 Asylum to Community Solutions. “We’re looking to prevent homelessness with these kinds of projects,” Haggarty said. “And we’re excited to build on our presence in that part of the city.”

Sign up for CT Mirror's free daily news summary.

Free to Read. Not Free to Produce.

The Connecticut Mirror is a nonprofit newsroom. 90% of our revenue comes from people like you. If you value our reporting please consider making a donation. You'll enjoy reading CT Mirror even more knowing you helped make it happen.

YES, I'LL DONATE TODAY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Uma Ramiah

SEE WHAT READERS SAID

RELATED STORIES
Connecticut’s $90M lobbying industry has a new player: former Speaker Joe Aresimowicz
by Mark Pazniokas

Former House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz is becoming a lobbyist, but a revolving-door law limits him for a year.

Spiking tax revenue will wipe out state budget deficit, analysts say
by Keith M. Phaneuf

Projected state revenues skyrocketed by $1.7 billion Friday, positioning officials to balance the next state budget without tax hikes.

Judge approves shorter sentence for convicted murderer turned prison mentor
by Kelan Lyons

The DOC could start screening Clyde Meikle in July for discharge to a halfway house.

Without vocal dissent, Senate confirms Justice Andrew McDonald
by Mark Pazniokas

The state Senate acted quickly Friday to confirm Andrew J. McDonald to a second term on the Supreme Court.

Funding to fix CT’s roads and bridges is drying up, and officials don’t have a solution
by Keith M. Phaneuf and Kasturi Pananjady

Connecticut's transportation building program is on a financial diet after a five-year ramp-up after lawmakers rejected tolls.

Support Our Work

Show your love for great stories and outstanding journalism.

$
Select One
  • Monthly
  • Yearly
  • Once
Artpoint painter
CT ViewpointsCT Artpoints
Opinion Evidence not clear that Trump incited Capitol destruction
by Alan Calandro

Defending President Donald Trump is not popular and I have no interest in writing this other than adherence to truth. Recognizing the truth (if we can find it, which is not always possible of course) should make us be able to come together around that and move on with a common understanding.

Opinion Securing our nuclear legacy: An open letter to President-elect Joe Biden
by Erik Assadourian

Dear President-elect Biden: As you noted in a tweet shortly after protestors stormed the Capitol on Wednesday, “Today is a reminder, a painful one, that democracy is fragile.” Indeed it is. And so are nation-states.

Opinion Last votes of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others
by Gary A. Franks

Finally, the election season is over. The historic elections we saw in this cycle were intriguing. The runoff elections for the U.S. Senate in Georgia put a cap on the campaign season. For many people this could be described as a COVID-19 election. I would argue that this was an election influenced by a pandemic but determined by the killing of unarmed Black people with no adequate justice for the Black community.

Opinion Not just environmental problem; Killingly plant is a great target
by Joel Gordes

In 1990, I was one of five legislators to introduce the first climate change legislation that became PA 90-219, An Act Considering Climate Change, the most popular bill of that session. Back then I considered climate change a national security issue… and I still do.

Artwork Grand guidance
by Anne:Gogh

In a world of systemic oppression aimed towards those of darker skintones – representation matters. We are more than our equity elusive environments, more than numbers in a prison and much more than victims of societal dispositions. This piece depicts a melanated young man draped in a cape ascending high above multiple forms of oppression. […]

Artwork Shea
by Anthony Valentine

Shea is a story about race and social inequalities that plague America. It is a narrative that prompts the question, “Do you know what it’s like to wake up in new skin?”

Artwork The Declaration of Human Rights
by Andres Chaparro

Through my artwork I strive to create an example of ideas that reflect my desire to raise social consciousness, and cultural awareness. Jazz music is the catalyst to all my work, and plays a major influence in each piece of work.”

Artwork ‘A thing of beauty. Destroy it forever’
by Richard DiCarlo | Derby

During times like these it’s often fun to revisit something familiar and approach things with a different slant. I have been taking some Pop culture and Art masterpieces and applying the vintage 1960’s and 70’s classic figures (Fisher Price, little people) to the make an amusing pieces. Here is my homage to Fisher -Price, Yellow […]

Twitter Feed
A Twitter List by CTMirror

Engage

  • Reflections Tickets & Sponsorships
  • Events
  • Donate
  • Newsletter Sign-Up
  • Submit to Viewpoints
  • Submit to ArtPoints
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Commenting Guidelines
  • Legal Notices
  • Contact Us

About

  • About CT Mirror
  • Announcements
  • Board
  • Staff
  • Sponsors and Funders
  • Donors
  • Friends of CT Mirror
  • History
  • Financial
  • Policies
  • Strategic Plan

Opportunity

  • Advertising and Sponsorship
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Use of Photography
  • Work for Us

Go Deeper

  • Steady Habits Podcast
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Five Things

The Connecticut News Project, Inc. 1049 Asylum Avenue, Hartford, CT 06105. Phone: 860-218-6380

© Copyright 2021, The Connecticut News Project. All Rights Reserved. Website by Web Publisher PRO