Hartford Public Library is partnerning with the Hartford Land Bank on a new program to train city residents to redevelop blighted homes in their neighborhoods.
The first cohort of 20 would-be developers will begin an intensive, two-week training program on Saturday, Dec. 4, at the new Park Street Library @ the Lyric. Free child care and food will be provided. The goal is to give residents the skills they need — as well as special financing — to rehab homes across that city that have fallen into disrepair and have been acquired by the Hartford Land Bank.
“We are happy to be able to host this program in collaboration with the Hartford Land Bank and support their efforts to boost home ownership in the City of Hartford,” said Hartford Public Library President and CEO Bridget E. Quinn. “When we embarked on plans for an expanded library on Park Street it is exactly programs like this that we hoped to offer to the community.”
Registrations for the first cohort have closed but the goal is to host additional training sessions in the future. There are no formal requirements to participate, and past criminal convictions are not a barrier to apply, but the land bank is looking for residents with construction skills or those with business aptitude and plans to partner the two types of individuals to form small development groups. The organization has received a $1 million commitment from the Hartford Community Loan Fund to provide low-interest loans to the cohort graduates to help them finance the renovations.
Hartford Land Bank Chief Executive Officer Arunan Arulampalam, center, holds office hours at the Park Street Library @ the Lyric last month.
“This is a real opportunity to build wealth among our city’s residents while redeveloping blighted properties,” said Hartford Land Bank Chief Executive Officer Arunan Arulampalam, who is also a member of the Hartford Public Library Board of Directors. “We have faith that those who live in Hartford are our best asset in rebuilding our neighborhoods.”
The Hartford Land Bank is a nonprofit and the first organization of its kind in Connecticut. Its goal is to acquire blighted and tax-delinquent properties and prepare them for restoration by a community-based developer in an effort to create new affordable housing and boost home ownership in Hartford. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, fewer than 25% of homes in Hartford are owner occupied.
About 300 Hartford residents submitted applications for the first round of training, said Yahaira Escribano, the finance and programs officer for the Hartford Land Bank. Selecting the 20 finalists for the cohort was “pretty tough,” she said. “All the applications were amazing.”
Escribano said the training program hopes to build generational wealth among Hartford families by offering them opportunities to own a home that will grow in value.
“It’s Hartford residents revitalizing the community for Hartford residents,” she said. “We want to create a pipeline for Hartford developers.”
For more information visit www.hartfordlandbank.org and register for emails to learn when the next session will be offered.