A run-down strip mall in downtown Windsor Locks will soon become a hub for transportation, affordable housing and retail.
The site, adjacent to a new train station under construction on Main Street, is in the middle of a transformation. Soil remediation work is underway at the plaza and soon crews will begin to demolish vacant structures.
The state of Connecticut has awarded Windsor Locks $4 million to help with remediation efforts. Officials announced last month they were awarding nearly $19 million in state grants to towns across the state to help clean up blighted properties.
State officials are focusing on projects that can help people across Connecticut, Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz said Tuesday at an event in Windsor Locks.
“Our state prioritizes the construction of affordable housing, of transit-oriented development and projects that benefit the entire region, and so this project was one that checked all the boxes,” Bysiewicz said.
The project will include 120 apartments, many of which will be affordable, according to Dan Drazen with Trinity Financial, the project’s developer.
Most apartments will be reserved for residents earning below the Area Median Income (AMI), while others will be market rents, Drazen said. Monthly rents will range from about $800 to about $2,200.
Crews expect to break ground by the end of the year.
Housing will be completed in two phases, the first with 70 apartments and the second with 50 apartments. The first phase should be complete in two years, Drazen said.
Connecticut is investing $65 million to move the Windsor Locks train station a mile from its current location back to the downtown area, where it was historically located. The station is set to reopen this summer.
Local zoning policies made investing in Windsor Locks more attractive, Drazen said.
"We not only had local leadership that implemented an overlay district that allowed us to do this project…but local government was also interested in reactivating the historic train station,” Drazen said.
The project is about more than just affordable housing, according to Republican State Rep. Tami Zawistowski, who represents the area. It also gives new life to underutilized space near the Connecticut River and helps revamp a local brownfield.
The ground floor of the new building will include 4,000 square feet of retail space.
“Here's a great opportunity to put in some super hospitality businesses and some other businesses that may have not been here before,” Zawistowski said.
