Hartford Business Journal

10 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | MAY 5, 2025 DE AL WATCH Honeycomb Real Estate Partners. Town officials have shown support, approving zoning changes and a 12.5-year tax abatement for the proj- ect's first phase, which would include 150 apartment units. Enfield also secured a $4 million state brownfield grant to help reme- diate past industrial pollution on-site. Gregory Vaca, founder and presi- dent of GRAVA, said the development team plans to submit final designs for town approval soon and be ready to launch construction before the close of 2025. He expects to finish a first development phase of 150 apart- ments within two years, and then push forward with a second phase of about 150 units, along with restau- rant and commercial space. Vaca estimates each of the two phases will cost about $50 million. With the current high levels of state support, Vaca said he's on the hunt for additional projects in Connecticut. "We are very excited to be working with the CMDA on this project," Vaca said. "We think it's an ideal candidate for them. With interest rates where they are today, this type of financing is critical for getting mixed-use and multifamily projects like this done." State incentives, including support from new quasi-public development agency, spurring major multifamily projects in Waterbury, Enfield Developer Michael Belfonti is eyeing a major multifamily redevelopment project in Waterbury that would be supported by state incentives. HBJ PHOTO | STEVE LASCHEVER By Michael Puffer mpuffer@hartfordbusiness.com A long-vacant, 145,656-square- foot office complex in downtown Waterbury could be transformed into more than 100 apartments thanks to new state programs that incentivize multifamily development. The cluster of office buildings at 81 and 111 West Main St. – including one known as "the Sovereign Bank Building" – have been empty for more than a decade. The prominent buildings dominate a corner of West Main Street across from the city's downtown Green, with three linked buildings ranging in size from two to eight stories. The properties also include a freestanding, 3,460-square-foot office building in the shadow of the larger complex. Michael Belfonti, founder and CEO of Hamden-based Belfonti Cos., said he is assembling designs and financing for a roughly $30 million redevelopment that will create 100 or more apartments, mixed with amenities and commercial uses. A recent swell in state-backed financing options has been key to giving the project life, Belfonti said. "I think that's a big driver of it," Belfonti said of the state programs. "I think now the state and the city are willing. The city is a stakeholder. Everybody is in a partnership. It wasn't as user-friendly five or ten years ago. You didn't have these programs." Economic driver Belfonti's proposal is one of the leading candidates for initial financing support from the Connecticut Municipal Develop- ment Authority, said David Kooris, executive director of the new quasi-public agency. Established by state lawmakers in 2019, the CMDA began to take form with Kooris' hiring last July. Gov. Ned Lamont armed the quasi-public agency with a $60 million state bond allocation. It's tasked with partnering with Connecticut communities to incen- tivize multifamily development in downtowns and near mass transit options. So far, a dozen municipalities have lined up to enroll. This starts a process that will target an area for high-density development, where CMDA incentives can be applied. The agency can help update zoning Gregory Vaca regulations, and then offer funding for related infrastructure and low-cost financing for developers. Waterbury, New Haven, New London, Naugatuck, Enfield, Seymour, Torrington, Old Saybrook, Manchester, Bridgeport, Norwich and Derby have been the first to formally start the enrollment process, Kooris said. Danbury and New Britain are expected to follow suit soon, he said. "I think the diversity of the commu- nities in terms of geography and scale is a strong testament to the interest in this approach," Kooris said. "The governor's strategy to offer up support and incentives seems to be working." Waterbury is one of those commu- nities that could tap into CMDA dollars earliest, thanks to projects that are nearly "shovel-ready," like Belfonti's, Kooris said. Belfonti said he hopes to fund the development with a mix of state and federal historic tax credits, conven- tional financing, a CMDA loan and the state's Build For CT program. Launched in late 2023, the $200 million Build For CT program partners state funding with private financing to support middle-income housing development. Under the program, at least 20% of units must be affordable to tenants with incomes between 60% and 120% of the area median. The program offers financing of up to $125,000 per rent-restricted unit, with interest rates of 1% to 3%. Belfonti said he hopes to secure financing late this year or early next, then launch a two-year construction project in the first quarter of 2026. Waterbury Economic Development Director Joseph McGrath said Belfon- ti's plan meshes well with Waterbury's push to increase market-rate housing in its downtown. Waterbury's long sleepy city center has seen a surge in investor interest in the past few years, with developers buying vacant and partially vacant downtown buildings to convert them into apartments. That has resulted in more than 100 new apartments, McGrath said, with 80 more in progress and about 220 more in design. Enfield project Another leading contender for CMDA funding, Kooris said, is a potential 300-unit development planned for 3.2 acres along the Connecticut River in Enfield. The site, at 33 North River St., had once been part of the defunct Bigelow Carpet manufacturing plant and is near where a new multimodal transit hub is planned. The project is a partnership between West Hartford developer GRAVA Properties and Avon-based

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