Stewart Administration Proposes $750 Tax Equivalent on Redeveloped Mt. Pleasant Affordable Housing

The administration of Mayor Erin Stewart (R) is proposing that $750 per unit per year be paid, equivalent to taxes, on Mt. Pleasant housing units, after the redevelopment of the current neighborhood there.

Plans call for demolishing the existing Mt. Pleasant neighborhood and replacing it with new construction.

The $750 payment proposal was introduced in the City Council by its Minority Leader, Ald. Robert Smedley (R-4), who, as Republican leader, typically introduces proposals from Stewart’s administration.

The resolution would authorize the city and and the New Britain Housing Authority, whose governing board is entirely appointed by Stewart, to use Connecticut General Statutes Section 8-58 to conclude a 39 year agreement, in which the Housing Authority and, “its development partner, JHM Group LLC,” would pay the city a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT), “of an annual sum determined by multiplying the number of rental units by the sum of $750.00.”

While state statute Sec. 8-58 does appear to allow for such an agreement, the same section also allows the city to, “agree that the authority shall not pay or be liable to pay any sum whatsoever in respect of a project or projects for any year or years.”

The city professes that the redevelopment will, “will replace the entire stock of affordable units on the site at a 1:1 rate with new construction units, while constructing an additional mix of affordable and market rate units.”

The Council will hold a public hearing on the proposal in its Committee on Administration, Finance and Law and Public Services, on Wednesday, September 4, 2024 at 6:30pm. The Council says that the hearing will be held,

in Council Chambers, City Hall, 2nd Floor, 27 West Main Street, New Britain, Connecticut. Individuals seeking to join the public hearing remotely may join the queue by calling 1 (339) 209-6176. Members of the public may attend the meeting in person or view a live broadcast online via the livestream link: https://www.newbritainct.gov/meetings or
https://www.youtube.com/@CONBCT/streams

In its meeting, held immediately after the public hearing, the Committee will consider recommending the proposal to the full Council for approval.