Most Significant Developments of 2008 [3]

“That place looks nice – I’d live there”
- Girl in car

“That’s assisted living public housing”
- Guy with sometimes embarrassingly in-depth knowledge of Stamford.

“oh”
- Girl in car

Girls from the suburbs of Connecticut who are apartment shopping don’t often looking longingly at public housing. The building here was the Post House, a 5 story brick building on Tresser Blvd recently completed in 2008 next to the Government Center. The building was part of a project aimed at replacing the below market rate units in an outdated public housing complex with low density, architecturally attractive, and in some instances mixed income housing. The other two complexes – completed townhouse on Taylor St. & a collection of townhouses still in construction on the site of the former Fairfield Court complete the replacement of all affordable housing units lost in addition to a number of market rate units incorporated into these developments.

The concept is not new, Southfield Village, a not so nice project was previously torn down and replaced with clutters of suburban style housing on the West Side. The main difference in this project is a one for one replacement of all affordable housing units, which Southfield did not include.

Charter Oak Communities, formally the Stamford Housing Authority is behind the project which receives its funding largely from the federal HOPE IV program. The name change coincides with pivot in their mission – from simply providing low income housing to creating mixed use, mixed income communities. In 2009 they are expected to break ground on their largest project to date – replacement of Vidal Court.

The recent work on Fairfield Court, as well as the new Charter Oak is nationally recognized as leaders in a new strategy to transform public housing traditionally designed as barracks for the poor to something more integrated into the larger community. There is a land swap in the works with Stamford Hospital to provide each with parcels more relevant to their expansion plans. Inclusion of market rate units will bring the middle class into the community putting cracks in some of the natural segregation in town. Future phases include ground floor retail in buildings encouraging full service, functioning neighborhoods. The West Side, long one of Stamford’s struggling neighborhoods could ultimately stand to see significant physical and sociological change Charter Oaks evolving role in the community.