The Pike, a recently completed apartment complex off the Berlin Turnpike, has 151 new apartments, 15 of which are designated affordable.
Complexes of this size are rare, and most communities in Connecticut aren’t zoned to allow large multi-family construction, something local developers are looking to change.
Connecticut landlords are outlining their hopes for the upcoming legislative session, with a focus on housing construction.
The key to solving Connecticut’s housing crisis is being not only pro-housing, but pro-development, developer, landlord and Connecticut Apartment Association (CTAA) member Kevin Santini said.
“We've been anti-development for a long time. We're building about 5,000 units a year total, single family, multi-family combined. Our population is approximately 3 million people. That's just not enough,” Santini said.
Santini has worked in the development industry for three decades, with his family-owned property management and construction company based in Vernon.
Connecticut needs to be constructing triple the current amount of new housing to tackle the approximately 90,000 deficit in affordable housing units, Santini said.
In 2023, Connecticut had about 3,500 permits approved for construction of buildings with five or more apartments, Santini said. Part of the lack in construction is the difficulty in finding towns in Connecticut that welcome larger developments and making them attractive to developers.
“There's a lot of ways that you can make it more appealing to build and most importantly, I think it makes it a more affordable product at the end for the end user, whether it's a renter or a buyer,” Santini said. “The more expensive you make it for us, unfortunately, the more expensive it's going to be for the end user.”
Landlords are urging state lawmakers to propose bills that would increase housing construction, including expanding infrastructure such as sewer and transportation capacity, and creating an incentive for landlords to accept housing vouchers.
New Haven landlord and CTAA member Dondre Roberts said the state legislature needs to refocus during the next general assembly session.
“The legislature needs to turn away from the landlord-tenant battles like rent caps and forever leases that held us back,” Roberts said. “Last year, those proposals were rejected. They took everyone's eye off the ball.”
The Connecticut Apartment Association isn’t traditionally vocal about legislation, but said it’s time they address the state’s housing crisis.
CTAA is also open to legislation that would provide tax cuts for developers who create new affordable housing, or the formation of pre-approved housing plans that would adhere to local zoning codes, making it easier for developers to get their projects approved.
“The state needs us. The state needs builders. They need apartment landlords and to fix this problem, because we are the ones that are going to fix it.,” Roberts said. “When you talk about mandates and things like that, at the end of the day, if the developer doesn't want to do it, it's not being built.”
