BRIDGEPORT – The remaking of the city’s South End took another step forward Monday as government officials and private partners broke ground on the second phase of the Windward Apartments affordable housing complex. But unlike many of the city’s developments, this one is designed to improve the safety and health of residents.
Concurrently, Resilient Bridgeport announced it is leading a pilot stormwater management project at the Windward site that will include a stormwater park suitable for use in dry weather, a storm water pump station and force main and extension and elevation of Johnson Street to serve as a means of dry egress during floods.
Read poem written by The Windward resident Charlene Colson
On Monday at the groundbreaking, such public officials as Mayor Joe Ganim, U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, state Commissioner for Housing Seila Mosquera-Bruno, state Sen. Herron Keyon Gaston, state Sen. Sujata Gadkar-Wilcox and state Rep. Christopher Rosario were joined by Park City Communities CEO Jillian Baldwin, JHM Group’s Todd and John McClutchy, The Richman Group’s Richard Richman and Bank of America President of Southern Connecticut Bill Tommins.
“It is exciting to see this new phase of the Windward apartments get underway as the Resilient Bridgeport project gets underway,” said Todd McClutchy, JHM Group president. Residents at the Windward will benefit greatly by all of the work being done through Rebuild by Design to make the area far more flood resilient and sustainable.”
JHM Group, the developers of the site, partnered with Park City Communities, which owns and manages the city’s public housing, to revive the complex. The project was designed by Crosskey Architects. The cost to build the second phase is about $30 million while the first phase was $27 million.
The construction company tasked with building the second phase of The Windward expects residents to be able to move in by the end of 2026.
“We did phase one a few years ago,” said Anthony Gaglio Jr., vice president and safety director of Viking Construction. “We are now making our way for the next 51 units for phase two. We have four full-time staff working over here with superintendents and project managers. Our site crews are on site now pouring the foundations. “We do our underground plumbing and then the framers (carpenters) will start.”
The Windward, which has 54 units located on Johnson Street that were completed in 2021, will add another 51 units once the second phase is complete by the end of 2026. Located on the site of the former Marina Village public housing complex, Windward has set aside one-third of the more than 100 units to residents who were displaced from Marina Village.
Mayor Ganim was energized by the launch of this new chapter in the city’s history. He said the expansion of the Windward community and the work of Resilient Bridgeport are breathing new life into the South End, helping make it a vibrant place within the city.
“Commissioner (of Housing Mosquera-Bruno), we want you at a groundbreaking every week here in Bridgeport,” Ganim said. “We have an executive order and a goal of 6,000 new units of housing. I’m sure that’s consistent with goals throughout Connecticut.”
Ganim pointed out how The Windward apartments fits in with all the development in the South End.
“Park Avenue is getting a $10 million beautification,” he said. “There’s the Warnaco building – I don’t know how many square feet of that is being demolished for a new site – and all the things that the University of Bridgeport is doing. And there’s the (former PSEG Bridgeport Harbor Station) power plant – the demolition of the last coal-burning plant in Connecticut that is being transformed into beautiful waterfront housing.”
Congressman Himes, who helped secure $10 million in federal HUD funds for the project, stressed the need for affordable housing in Bridgeport as well as in the state and nation.
“This groundbreaking represents an amazing upgrade of what was once here, showing what is possible,” said Rep. Jim Himes. “Right now, affordability is top-of-mind, especially regarding housing in Connecticut and Fairfield County. The Windward brings affordable housing to this community which will transform lives.”
Stormwater management project
As for the need for stormwater management in the area surrounding the Windward, Todd McClutchy reminded those at the groundbreaking of the dangers nature poses there.
“The South End has suffered substantial damage due to Superstorm Sandy dating back to 2012 and continues to experience flooding problems,” he said. “This will provide the critical infrastructure that will allow the redevelopment of the property which we see amongst us.”
The RBD project received $10 million in funding from the U.S. HUD and $10 million from the state of Connecticut Bond Commission. The Resilient Bridgeport project is bounded by South Street to the north, Iranistan Avenue to the west, Ridge Avenue to the south and by Columbia Street to the east. The Johnson Street extension will be built with a minimum elevation of 14 North American Vertical Datum (standard for height above sea level) and connect to the existing elevation east of Columbia Street.
The financing for the Windward project came from the Bank of America in the form of $30 million in debt and equity financing.
