May 15, 2008
Chandler Howard, who became president and CEO of Liberty Bank in September, took his first tour of the Ferry-Green-Rapallo Street section of the North End on Monday, saw the more than $25 million in new or planned housing, and came away impressed.
'There's a lot going on here, a lot in motion,' said Howard. He paused as kids and parents came in and out of Wesleyan's Green Street Arts Center. He saw five worn multifamily houses that are slated to be renovated into owner-occupied town houses, and another two vacant buildings that will become rental housing. He walked through the parking lot of the 96-unit Wharfside Commons apartment complex, which has been open since early last year and is nearly full.
His guides were Lydia Brewster, founder of the North End Action Team; neighborhood resident Maritza 'Cookie' Quinones, who is NEAT's president; and Michael Taylor, executive director of the Nehemiah Housing Development Corp. Nehemiah, with partner Broad Park Development Corp., is building the owner-occupied and rental housing around the Wharfside complex. Work is expected to begin later this year.
Earlier Wednesday, on behalf of the Liberty Bank Foundation, Howard had given a $10,000 check to Taylor to help Nehemiah with the bookkeeping that comes with running a multimillion project. Nehemiah and Broad Park are expecting to receive over $3 million in state funding and a substantial construction loan to develop the housing.
And Howard gave a $7,500 check from the foundation to the North End Action Team, to help keep Izzi Greenberg working as NEAT's executive director. For more than 10 years, the grass-roots group has run youth programs and helped adults in the North End to raise their skill levels and advocate for themselves.
Sue Murphy of the Liberty Bank Foundation calls this 'capacity building.' Brewster and company see this kind of funding as the only way they're going to continue to spearhead the renewal of what for several decades has been Middletown's poorest neighborhood.
Brewster said that one of the challenges on the housing front is to make sure the new tenants of Wharfside participate in, and feel part of the neighborhood. The large complex has its supporters and detractors. The first wave of tenants told The Courant last year that they love their apartments.
On the business front, Brewster said the smaller retail merchants on Main Street, north of Washington Street, often feel cut off from the rest of downtown. That seemed to strike a chord with Howard, who said that if this area thrives, Middletown benefits.
Contact Josh Kovner at jkovner@courant.com .
Copyright © 2008 Hartford Courant, All Rights Reserved.
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