WHI Camelot LLC has plans of redeveloping a Hartford Inn Site in Connecticut into an affordable housing project dubbed The Camelot. According to developer Lewis Brown, a principal of WHI, the project’s location at Farmington Avenue is an ideal site. Especially since it offers access to a vibrant part of town, near the Center and Blue Back Square. Moreover, the location also makes transportation easily accessible to residents.
West Hartford Mayor, Shari Cantor said The Camelot, unlike other affordable housing projects, will reach much deeper in the region. The mayor said many of the housing projects around are market rates, with some of them providing a portion of affordability. But the affordable housing units are mostly for people earning 80% of the area median income(AMI).
However, The 44-unit Camelot housing project will provide 90% affordability at various levels of income eligibility. Brown mentioned that 10% of the units will be unrestricted. While the other units will be reserved for people earning up to 80% or less of the AMI. The developer has received a state’s $998,000 brownfield grant to clean up the site.
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Development plans for The Camelot affordable housing project
The Camelot will bring a mix of one and two-bedroom affordable units to the area. The developer will restrict the one-bedroom units to include five units at 30%, two at 50%, and 11 at 80% AMI. But two of these one-bedroom units will be at market rate. On the other hand, the two-bedroom units will include 10 at 30% AMI and 12 at 80% AMI. Two of these two-bedroom units will also be at market rate.
The renovations on the six-storey Hartford Inn will cover the building’s interior and 56 ground-level covered parking spaces. After the renovation work is complete, The Camelot apartment building will feature two wings, one of which will be new. The 52 existing hotel rooms at the former Hartford Inn will be converted into 24 apartments. While the restaurant building on the property will be demolished, develop a new five-storey building with 20 apartments.
The 24 apartment units at the Camelot will consist of 20 one-bedroom units and four two-bedroom units. While the 20 apartments reserved for the new section, will feature only two-bedroom units. Additionally, the new building offers community spaces and several amenities at the ground floor level. What’s more, the Community spaces also provide residents with access to essential resources such as computers and other technology.
