May 30, 2008
Another Allen-O’Neill redevelopment proposal nears
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Just about a year after Jenny Schwartz took over as chairman of the Darien Housing Authority, plans for the Allen-O’Neill redevelopment are shaping up once again.
Schwartz said she hopes to have a proposal before Planning & Zoning in the fall.
The previous plans to redevelop the Allen-O’Neill Moderate Income Family Homes on Noroton Avenue was contentious on several levels.
In late January of last year, three commissioners of the Housing Authority resigned: chairman Anne Lynn, Susan Kostin and Janet Evans, citing interference from First Selectman Evonne Klein.
Much of the turmoil for the Housing Authority stemmed from the former plans for the Allen O’Neill redevelopment project. The property was being evaluated to maximize the amount of affordable housing that could be put there. Current tenants said their concerns were not being addressed and relations between them and the Housing Authority were strained.
It took five weeks for the Housing Authority to regain its quorum. In early March of last year, the Board of Selectmen appointed two Republicans, Joe Warren and Jenny Schwartz, and Democrat Jan Raymond.
Raymond said that this Housing Authority is “already past the point where the other group fell apart.”
“We’re not going to have the contentious issues that broke the other group apart,” she said during an interview last week with The Darien Times.
One major difference in this process is that the Housing Authority is using a co-developer this time, which brings in expertise for such a project.
Schwartz said the Housing Authority has a great building committee, including members representing the outlying neighborhood, residents of Allen-O’Neill, the town at large, and representatives from the RTM’s Planning, Zoning & Housing and Finance & Budget committees.
“We all met to discuss what to do and give direction to the co-developer, including design, traffic, drainage, and building with green materials,” she said.
Schwartz said that the public part of the meeting with the co-developer included comments that reiterated the Housing Authority and building committee’s input.
The Housing Authority is prioritizing an open process, including setting up an online Yahoo Group and a Web site for updates and discussions about the redevelopment.
Schwartz said that the Housing Authority hopes to use The Darien Times and Darien-TV Channel 79 to reach those that don’t use the Internet.
“We want to have public meetings specifically for the redevelopment to come and see those schematics,” she said.
Schwartz said that the Housing Authority is waiting for the co-developer to put together the first draft of the density of units, topographical information and how many trees will be saved. Once that information is complete, she said a meeting will take place.
Schwartz said that the Housing Authority has been trying to demonstrate to the state that Darien is serious about affordable housing. The funding for the redevelopment is going to come from a tax credit program as well as other possible grants. The housing tax-credit program is a tool for those developing affordable housing. Developers receive tax credits and sell them to private investors who benefit form a reduction in tax liability. Tax credits are allocated each year on a competitive basis.
If P&Z gives its blessing to the project this fall, then the Darien Housing Authority would go before the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority in search of tax credits, Schwartz said.The application process for Housing Finance Authority takes six to nine months, so Schwartz said the likelihood is that the Darien Housing Authority wouldn’t be breaking ground until 2010.
Schwartz said she was not involved in the previous redevelopment, so she can’t speak of what went wrong.
“What I can say is we have a relationship with our residents and have very open lines of communication,” she said. Schwartz said the process has been very “transparent.”
She pointed out that the Allen O’Neill houses were originally designed to be temporary homes for soldiers that are now over 50 years old. They also do not maximize the potential of the property they are on. The new redevelopment will be approximately 80 to 120 units — an increase from the current 53 units.
“Anything less than 80 doesn’t make sense,” she said.
In addition, Schwartz said the Housing Authority hopes to repeatedly get the information on the redevelopment out to the town.
“We hope to have more meetings, and answer questions — we’ll continue to answer them until people are comfortable,” she said.
On the Web: groups.yahoo.com/group/allenoneill/join
E-mail Darien Times reporter Susan Shultz at
sshultz@darientimes.com.
© Copyright 2008 by Hersam Acorn Newspapers
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