From city Communications Director Brett Broesder:
Mayor Bill Finch joined Bridgeport Neighborhood Trust (BNT) and community leaders today to celebrate construction of the Milestone Apartments in the city’s East End. The new, three-story building will be home to an Early Childhood Education Center run by ABCD Inc. and 30 new apartments that will provide affordable housing on the second and third floors. One third of the apartments will be reserved for veterans returning who are coming home after defending our country.
“Bridgeport is investing in the future, making our city a place where our kids and grandkids will choose to live, work, and raise their families,” said Mayor Bill Finch. “We’re creating jobs and growing our economy through several development projects, such as Steelpointe Harbor, downtown and the East Bridgeport Development corridor. Milestone Apartments will create more jobs, more housing opportunities, and more economic opportunities for our East End neighborhood. This development is further proof that Bridgeport is getting better every day.”
On Friday morning, the community joined Mayor Finch, state Sen. Edward Gomes, state Rep. Andre Baker, City Council members Eneida Martinez, Milta Feliciano and James Holloway and state and local officials on Stratford Avenue to celebrate a steel rising for the new 9,000-square-foot building in East Bridgeport.
This project will create over 100 jobs and millions of dollars in economic development for the Park City.
“It’s contagious,” said Mayor Finch, pointing to new construction projects underway or completed at Steelpointe, downtown, Downtown North, the East End, West Side, Black Rock, Sound End and virtually every other city neighborhood.
“There is so much that is going on in Bridgeport,” Mayor Finch said, including a new project that will place thousands of solar panels and a new fuel cell that will power an additional 5,000 homes with clean and renewable energy. “We’re creating jobs and new parks and a growing tax base that is making Bridgeport a place where people choose to raise their kids and grandkids.”
This morning, Mayor Finch and BNT celebrated the first steel rising at the new Milestone Apartments.
“This development is appropriately names because it is a milestone, the first of I hope many for the East End,” he said.
The first floor of the building will contain a pre-kindergarten program operated by Action for Bridgeport Community Development Inc. (ABCD) in another step to make Bridgeport the first municipality in the state to have universal pre-K. Upstairs, there will be 30 units of affordable housing, a third of which will be reserved for military veterans.
Ø For a rendering of Milestone Apartments, click here: bit.ly/1x5n7N6.
Ø For a photo of construction at Milestone Apartments, click here: bit.ly/1xChZeu.
Ø To watch video of the steel rising, click here: bit.ly/19FbvGx.
BNT Chairman Terence Floyd said the housing and supportive services for veterans hold particular significance for him. His father, a Vietnam veteran, passed away nine months ago and he often spoke that the government and community needs to more to support its returning veterans.
“When I look at this project and I see that the priority for some of the units is for veterans, it warms my heart,” Floyd said.
Mayor Finch’s administration has worked with BNT to see the project through. Around two years ago the city’s Anti-Blight department razed a dilapidated building that was located on one of the four parcels on which Milestone will be built.
Elizabeth Torres, the chief executive officer of BNT, said Mayor Finch and city Economic Development director David Kooris were key partners in the process.
“Today is a big day for the East End of Bridgeport. We are starting construction on a major project here,” she said. “We have been working in this community for three years now, working hand in hand with the City of Bridgeport, David Kooris and Mayor Bill Finch. They have been extremely helpful.”
New construction replacing blighted buildings? New housing units? Favorable arrangements for military veterans? And added pre-K programing for youth? It’s all there along with all the other projects touched upon in various parts of the City, except for any reference to how this will benefit the current 100% taxpayers, those are the folks paying the full mil rate on their out-of-date valuations. They are not provided an abatement, an opportunity for an alternative payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT), there is no one to provide a SUBSIDY for the 100% taxpayer for a five-year, ten-year, 20-year or 40-year period, is there? Anybody have the list of all the “less than 100% ‘non-taxpayers’?” How many are Bridgeport residents? Whose owns this policy? Where was it discussed in any public hearing? Where is there a file for every subsidized property showing the financial estimates (by City consultants), the real long-term jobs created, the expected use of City services (especially education), and where break-even is expected? Time will tell.
A ton of money now coming into the City from the State quadrupling previous allotments with a ton of tax rebate goodies from the City and clean land as a freebie. Not really anybody having oversight over it. Total Development Costs probably twice what they should be to support “soft costs” of out-of-towners and a voting outreach mechanism for November.
I wish this State money would be used to start up a Neighborhood Housing Service on the East Side where historic properties becoming vacant are getting worse every day. Just sitting there, and sitting there and sitting there.
Santa Finch will deliver all promises after November’s election!
Government-funded childcare programs and more government-funded rental units. Yep, that’s the formula for success. Bridgeport is getting better every day. Lennie, are you posting these to make us laugh or has the ministry of public enlightenment expanded its subject matter for the Finch taxpayer-funded reelection campaign?
HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD!!!
“Bridgeport is investing in the future, making our city a place where our kids and grandkids will choose to live, work, and raise their families.”
The reason so many people are moving to Stamford must be because of government-funded housing and child care … right. Finch, you are full of shit and you know it.
Tom, if the news releases provide you a chuckle, I’m fine with that!
Returning veterans who fought for this country, affordable housing and daycare for an underserved community. Good job, Mayor Finch. JML of all, I am shocked, disturbed and profoundly disappointed in your negative post. Ron Mackey? Donald Day? I expect a kind word for this contribution to the East End. At least it will improve the quality of lives for a handful of individuals. We can’t do enough for returning vets. Affordable housing will unfortunately always be a need in our city. Since when is it a crime to be poor and need a place to live?
No Bridgeporter is running to Stamford simply because the middle class of Bridgeport would be those same people living in poverty on the East End. This blog has become such a horrible depressing avenue to spend time. I must admit it is addicting to me but honestly in my real world I like to associate with individuals who embrace life and always see the best in people.
Steven Auerbach, I have some of the concerns of JML but not all of them. Is this project what the community wants? Were there public meetings to get the input from the community and did this come through the East End NRZ? What is the cost to the taxpayers of Bridgeport? This district has no pharmacy, no supermarket or grocery, no gas station but they have a lot of liquor stores.
The liquor stores are not the Mayor’s problem, community daycare and affordable housing in this community is. Personally, a project like this does not need input from the community. If it were a homeless shelter, a porn shop, a massage parlor, a shelter for battered woman, a marijuana dispensary etc, I could see neighborhood input. I can only see thousands of grateful people who would love the opportunity to live there as opposed to living in deplorable conditions of subsidized housing guaranteeing the slumlord his income while they live in substandard conditions. Let’s not talk gas stations and grocery stores again … Puuullleeez!
Steve Auerbach, so you would have no problem with the City building this project in your district or in Black Rock and no one in the community living there could have anything to say about it? Thousands of grateful people? Please!!!
Ron Mackey, homes for veterans? I’d be honored to have them living in my neighborhood. An ABCD daycare center is not a need in my neighborhood. Affordable housing is a need in all areas, it is Section 8 housing you can keep. I think I’d appreciate more housing for veterans in Bridgeport. Free daycare centers, you are right, don’t have kids if you cannot afford a sitter and more affordable housing for individuals who have been sucking the life out of the Bridgeport taxpayers. You are right Mackey, the only affordable housing I want built anywhere in this city should only be for Veterans. Now we are on the same page, no? I say build all new housing in Waterbury and Ansonia. Bridgeport should follow Stamford’s lead. Focus on those who contributed to our freedom and get rid of second-generation welfare recipients. Mr. Mackey, that does work for me. Thank you for opening my eyes. We have been building affordable housing and making free daycare available to women who do not understand the term contraception and letting our heroes, the warriors, return from battle to live on the streets. I say build housing for veterans everywhere in the City. I’d be honored to have them in my neighborhood.
SWEET! Another press conference, and another announcement of more affordable housing! Ummm, any chance we could get industry here to create JOBS???
If Broesder is trying to create the illusion of solidarity between the delegation and the Finch Administration, a good place to start is getting the State Senator from the 23rd SSD’s name right. It’s Edwin Gomes, cowboy.
If building 30 units of affordable housing in the East End is going to cause our children and grandchildren to want to live in this city, it is because they are trapped in the cycle of poverty and they will not get a solid education and a good-paying job since neither are available in Bridgeport.
After 7+ years, this is what the mayor calls economic development in the East End??? He has produced nothing for the East End–water taxis aren’t East End development and as good as this facility is–it isn’t economic development either. Kool-Aid, anyone?
Ron Mackey, honest question.
Would you come out against affordable housing and a daycare center?
Do you think more than two people would fight it?
Do you think 100 would support it?
Do you think any elected official past and present would oppose it?
Would Ernie Newton support it?
Has Bridgeport done anything to support our veterans other than a memorial downtown? Which is spectacular by the way.
I wish they could have incorporated a Veterans’ facility as part of the New Jewish Home being built on Park Avenue. Personally, I think every city in the country should focus on affordable subsidized housing for the men and woman who served our country and returned disabled. How could we not make them a priority?
Steve, for a guy who supposedly knows about Bridgeport let me inform you we have a home for male veterans and a home for female veterans.
Andy Fardy, I am aware and think Bridgeport could and should do more for veterans. It is the right thing to do!
You guys will gripe about anything, won’t you? Why doesn’t somebody astonish me and go out and get some semblance of a life?