FOR IMMEDATE RELEASE

Tuesday, September 24, 2024

SENATOR CABRERA WELCOMES VOTE SEEKING $250,000 STATE GRANT FOR HAMDEN CENTER MASTER PLAN

HAMDEN – State Senator Jorge Cabrera (D-Hamden) today welcomed a vote by the bipartisan Community Investment Fund (CIF) 2030 board that will bring $250,000 to Hamden to help create the “Town of Hamden Town Center Master Plan.”

The CIF vote is a key step toward final approval of the plan by the State Bond Commission, which must come in the next 60 days.

Hamden’s legislative delegation – including Sen. Cabrera – wrote a letter to the CIF in June advocating for the Hamden funding, saying an updated town center master plan is “at its core about developing a vision for a more vibrant Town Center. This planning project will create a critical, and actionable, roadmap toward future possibilities and implementation ensuring that even high-level visions are grounded in reality and needs of the community.”

“With this funding, we can position Hamden for decades of prosperity and vitality,” Sen. Cabrera said. “It’s a critical first step in revitalizing and connecting our different neighborhood centers if we’re going to meet the needs of Hamden residents and businesses.”

The Community Investment Fund 2030 (CIF) was created by a bipartisan vote of the General Assembly in 2021 and is funded through state bonding.

The CIF fosters economic development in historically underserved communities across the state. The CIF will provide a total of up to $875 million to eligible municipalities as well as not-for-profit organizations and community development corporations that operate within them.

Grants are available for:

Capital improvement programs, such as brownfield remediation, affordable housing, infrastructure, clean energy development, and home or public facility rehabilitation

Small business capital programs, including revolving or micro loan programs, gap financing, and start-up funds to establish small businesses.

Planning for capital projects including activities such as community engagement processes, feasibility studies, development of project plan and construction budget.