New Haven Hill Redevelopment Converts Former Factory into 150 Apartments

The Hill neighborhood in New Haven is about to look pretty different. A new $73 million apartment complex is rising at 10 Liberty Street, right where the old Electrix Illumination factory used to be.

This five-story building will have 150 units—almost all of them affordable or deeply affordable. They’re aiming for households earning between 30% and 80% of the area median income.

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It’s a transit-oriented project, just a short walk from Union Station. The developers are leaning into sustainable living and hoping to spark some real community revitalization here.

Revitalizing The Hill with Affordable Housing

The Hill’s been through a lot—economic ups and downs, and plenty of urban renewal talk. Now, with city and state leaders on board, this project feels like a real move toward New Haven’s big goal: 10,000 new housing units in ten years.

Key Details of the Development

They’re mixing modern, eco-friendly design with affordability. That’s become a bit of a trend lately in Connecticut cities—think Bridgeport or Hartford—where working families need homes that don’t just break the bank but also don’t break the planet.

Location: 10 Liberty Street, New Haven’s Hill neighborhood
Total units: 150 (149 affordable or deeply affordable)
Sustainability features: geothermal heating and cooling, solar panels
Parking: 136 spaces
Bicycle storage: 45 spaces
Proximity: ¼ mile from Union Station

Funding and Partnership Support

The financing here is a real patchwork—public agencies and private investors coming together. That kind of teamwork is more and more essential in Connecticut cities like Stamford, Norwalk, and Waterbury, where affordable housing is always a hot topic.

Major Contributors

The Connecticut Housing Finance Authority chipped in nearly $37 million. The state Department of Housing added $16.5 million. Bank of America put up $75 million in debt and equity.

There’s also brownfield funding from the Department of Economic and Community Development to clean up the old factory site. Developer Jonathan Cortell from Cortell Development Group says none of this would happen without everyone pulling together.

Transit-Oriented Design for Sustainable Living

Living this close to Union Station means you’re right in the middle of New Haven’s public transit hub. Projects like this are starting to pop up in places like West Haven and Meriden too, giving people a shot at ditching the car and still getting where they need to go.

Eco-Friendly Features

Geothermal heating and cooling, plus solar panels, are meant to keep utility bills down and help the environment. There’s also plenty of bike storage and parking, which should encourage people to get around in different ways.

Economic and Community Impact

Mayor Justin Elicker and Housing Commissioner Seila Mosquera-Bruno both pointed out that affordable housing tied to transit can really jumpstart a neighborhood. You see the same hopes in places like Danbury and Middletown, where people are betting on affordable housing to drive economic growth.

Timeline and Outlook

They expect construction to take about two years. When it’s done, the Liberty Street project will offer high-quality affordable homes and—hopefully—show other cities what’s possible when you mix economic development, sustainability, and community needs.

A Model for Statewide Affordable Housing Efforts

This development sits in New Haven, but honestly, its approach could work for communities all over Connecticut. When you combine public investment, private financing, and cleaning up the environment, other cities might just pull off the same kind of success.

New Haven keeps pushing toward its 10,000-unit goal. Projects like the Liberty Street apartments prove that practical, creative solutions aren’t just possible—they might even benefit whole regions.

With any luck, people moving into these units in two years will finally have homes that fit both their budgets and their lives. And they’ll be right in the middle of a neighborhood that’s coming back to life.

Here is the source article for this story: Redevelopment of former factory into 150 apartments in New Haven’s Hill section begins

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