Norwich, Waterford apartment complexes receive state financing for affordable units

Housing projects in Norwich and Waterford will receive financing assistance from the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority to provide a mixture of market-rate rental units and affordable units.

The second building in the giant Ponemah Mill complex in Norwich, being renovated into 146 apartments, will receive $6.25 million and the Waterford Woods Phase III project will receive $5.5 million, both in loans through the Build For CT middle-income rental program, state officials announced Thursday.

The two local projects were among loan awards covering 362 housing units statewide announced Thursday by the state Department of Housing and CHFA. The Build For CT program is a new collaboration between DOH and CHFA to help create apartments affordable for middle-income renters.

The Ponemah Mill South project, adjacent to the completed and much larger 313-unit complex of market-rate and affordable apartments, calls for 146 units in a second mill building in the historic textile complex. With the new $6.25-million Build for CT financing, the complex will have 50 units restricted for tenants earning 80% of the area median income.

The five-acre Ponemah complex has amenities including a cinema, spa, and riverwalk along the Shetucket River.

Officials from OneKey LLC, the Ponemah project developer, could not be reached for comment Friday. Kevin Brown, president of the Norwich Community Development Corp., which has assisted the project with state applications, said the original plan called for all market-rate apartments, but it became difficult to obtain commercial financing for them in the current financing market.

The Ponemah building renovations are well underway. Brown said the first floor is completely framed, the second floor is 70% completed and the third floor is 50% done. Installation of new exterior windows is almost complete, Brown said.

In Waterford, the Waterford Woods Phase III of a large new apartment complex at 394 Willets Ave. received $5.5 million in financing through the Build for CT program. The CHFA financing will support the construction of 44 units designated for middle-income households earning between 60% and 80% of the area median income. Waterford Woods Phase III has 216 apartments with amenities including 72,500 square feet of recreation area with gardens, pickleball courts, hiking trails, and a pond.

c.bessette@theday.com