Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont joined Bridgeport Mayor Joe Gamin, local community leaders and financing partners in breaking ground on a 420-apartment mixed-use development on Tuesday.
The development is called the August at Steelepoint Harbor. It is located on six and a half acres adjacent to the Bridgeport Harbor Marina and is the first phase of a plan to redevelop a vacant 52-acre waterfront site once occupied by a coal-fired electricity power plant.
It’s a decades-long project that’s finally coming together to provide much-needed housing to keep workers in the state, said Lamont at the groundbreaking ceremony.
“We desperately need workforce housing," Lamontt said. "Every single business I talk to, everybody is saying maybe I can get the workforce but I’m not sure there is housing for them. There will be housing for them right here in Bridgeport, right here at Steelepoint.”
“It’s housing that young people can afford to start their careers in. Housing for our teachers, firemen and cops,” Lamont added.
The development also fits into Lamont’s push for more transit-oriented residential development because it is located near Bridgeport’s bus and Metro-North stations and the city’s ferry dock.
The $190 million project is owned by Flaherty & Collins Properties and the RCI group. It’s financed with some state help, while the majority of the funding comes from local and national lenders led by Old National Bank.
