An aging affordable apartment complex in West Hartford is undergoing an overhaul.
West Hartford Fellowship Housing opened in 1970 and provides affordable housing for elderly and disabled residents.
A redevelopment and expansion a decade in the making is underway and will add dozens of new residents.
Currently, the campus consists of 24 buildings, with 213 apartments. Over several years all but one of the buildings will be demolished. The existing apartments that will remain will also be updated.
Six new buildings will be constructed, providing an additional 87 units.
Various revenue streams contributed to the project, including the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority (CHFA) and several million dollars from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
Fellowship Housing is one of the first state funded projects as part of an effort to preserve existing buildings, according to CHFA Chief Executive Officer Nandini Natarajan.
“Extend the useful life of our buildings, make them environmentally sustainable and keep our people safe and in affordable rental housing for generations,” Natarajan said.
Residents who live in units that are being demolished will be temporarily relocated to 22 vacant apartments in other Fellowship buildings.
Claire Buck, a Fellowship Housing resident of nine years, said she’s looking forward to the increased apartment size. The new apartments will be 80% to 110% larger than existing units.
“I’m really looking for a bigger space in the apartments, cause right now they’re small. They really don’t accommodate that much,” Buck said.
The $100 million project will be completed in four phases. The first phase is underway and is expected to be completed in 18 months. The organization will begin applying for second-phase funding in January, Fellowship Housing board director Clare Kindall said.
