State Solicits Applications From ‘Smart’-Minded Towns

By Soule, Alexander

After dangling at least $10 million this year as an incentive for communities to build housing near mass transportation hubs, Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s administration is now soliciting applications from municipalities that want assistance – even as it fine-tunes its own policies on “smart” growth.

The new initiative also encourages regional planning authorities to submit proposals to the state Office of Program Management demonstrating services that may increase the their purchasing power or provide a cost savings that, in turn, leads to lower property taxes.

“We are all anxiously looking to see which towns move first,” said Joan McDonald, commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD).

The incentives come as Fairfield County hosts two conferences on the topic of transit-oriented development: one last week sponsored by the Southwest Regional Planning Agency, and one next month by the Connecticut chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

Such projects are intended to limit urban sprawl by clustering housing in attractive retail and entertainment districts, and require cooperation between multiple agencies at the state and local level.

In August, Rell charged a new task force with recommending by early next year standards for the state’s “smart growth” investments. The task force includes personnel from 11 state agencies; six members appointed by the Legislature; and two more by the governor who represent small and large municipalities.

In March, Rell appointed Detroit native Albert Martin to lead responsible-growth oversight at the Connecticut Department of Transportation, even as the state has earmarked $3.5 billion over the past few years to improving Connecticut highways, rails and bus routes.

McDonald said her agency is preparing a strategic plan that will address transit-oriented growth. While the plan is not due until the summer of 2009, she said DECD will be releasing components of it in advance as they are finalized.

DECD already backs several programs aimed at revitalizing urban residential areas, including the Connecticut Main Street Center consulting program which assesses the potential for downtown districts.

The new incentives come in the wake of existing momentum in Stamford for such projects. Along the city’s waterfront, Antares Investment Partners is redeveloping industrial property for mixed residential and commercial use, with plans to add as many as 4,000 units of housing.

Between that project and others in downtown Stamford, the city has some 7,500 units of housing in the pipeline, according to Michael Freimuth, Stamford’s director of economic development.

“Everyone wants to be on top of that train (station),” Freimuth said.

The promise of a new train station in Redding helped convince Steve Soler to undertake the redevelopment of an abandoned wire mill in that town. His Georgetown Land Development Co. has been clearing the property this summer to lay the groundwork for more than 400 units of housing.

Still open to debate is how much of the new housing will be deemed affordable under state guidelines for lower-income families. Freimuth said Stamford is wrestling with this problem as luxury residential projects proliferate.

“It’s not so much that affordable housing has not been built, it’s more that so much market-rate housing is being built,” Freimuth said.

Copyright Westfair Communications Sep 24, 2007

(c) 2007 Fairfield County Business Journal. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.