Connecticut Group Gets to Work on Fostering Housing Development

The Municipal Redevelopment Authority, a quasi-public agency intended to help Connecticut municipalities meet a pressing demand for housing, met for the first time during a Thursday meeting at the state Capitol in Hartford.

During the meeting, the MRDA’s 16-member board was sworn in by Gov. Ned Lamont and voted to appoint an executive director, David Kooris, an urban planning professional who also serves as a member for the Connecticut Port Authority board.

Lamont stressed the impact housing has on Connecticut’s economy.

“First time in a long time we really have strong economic growth and a lot of people want to be coming into this state,” the governor told the group. “We have a population that’s growing. The only thing that can slow us down is housing and we’re not going to let that happen.”

The authority was created by the state legislature with the goal of helping cities and towns identify zones near public transit systems where housing developments can be expedited. The state has authorized $60 million in bonding to assist with financing to help get housing developments off the ground.

Kooris told the group he believed in the MRDA’s mission and felt that many towns and cities would be receptive to the Authority’s assistance.

“There are dozens and dozens of municipalities that want to grow, that want to provide new housing opportunities, that want to foster economic development and this organization, this authority is designed to help them realize how to do so,” he said.

Posted by Hugh McQuaid