Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy announced the creation of a transit-oriented development (TOD) fund intended “to promote mixed-use, smart and sustainable development while encouraging economic growth.” The $15 million fund will be used to provide financing for “livable, walkable, and bikeable” development along the CTfastrak and New Haven-Hartford-Springfield (NHHS) transit corridors, Malloy said Wednesday at Hartford’s Union Station.
The State will invest $2 million ($1 million from the Office of Policy and Management, $1 million from the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority) to leverage $13 million from the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), “and potentially millions more from banks, developers and other private and public sector organizations.” LISC will manage the fund and work with communities to identify parcels within a half-mile of stations for transit-oriented development opportunities.
The announcement came just minutes before a CTfastrak “open house” kicked off at the Old State House, where the project team not only provided details about rider experience, but also highlighted a few TOD projects already underway along the New Britain-Hartford busway, such as the rehabilitation of the National Welding site in Newington, and a former police station in New Britain.
This isn’t the first time Governor Malloy has made funding available to help boost transit-oriented development in his state. In 2011, the governor announced a $5 million grant program for TOD planning around existing and future transit stations, including in downtown Hartford. Governor Malloy was quick to point out that construction has begun on 750 new apartments “within walking distance of [Union Station],” something he says no one thought possible before he took office three and a half years ago.
In 2012, a TSTC analysis found that investment along the CTfastrak corridor was well underway even before a shovel had entered the ground, and the new program follows calls from Tri-State to leverage Connecticut’s new transit infrastructure for smarter redevelopment.
[…] Connecticut certainly deserves the federal funding it has applied for to replace the bridge. But if the application is denied, Governor Malloy, ConnDOT and the traveling public need to think seriously about the future of transportation in Connecticut. Luckily, federal transportation dollars are incredibly flexible and can be used for a variety of purposes. The question is, will Connecticut stick with an expensive plan to widen a small section of highway when more cost-effective options are available, or will they use that funding more wisely to harden the backbone of the state’s economy, provide more transportation choices that will keep young people in the state, and support more sustainable economic and transit-oriented development? […]
[…] In Connecticut, Governor Malloy recently announced $15 million for the creation of a TOD fund around CTfastrak and New Haven-Hartford-Springfield Rail stations, but a Safe Streets to […]
[…] Hartford, where more than 80 percent of commuters currently drive alone. The rail line is also expected to bring transit-oriented development to areas near stations, not just in Knowledge […]
[…] of a state that is making real investments in TOD. In 2014, Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy designated $15 million to kick-start mixed-use development along new commuter rail and bus rapid transit corridors, and […]
[…] and New Britain, has spurred redevelopment along its route, and the governor’s office has made funds available to further TOD efforts in that corridor and along the soon-to-open New Haven-Hartford-Springfield (NHHS) rail line. […]