BRIDGEPORT — Musically, the 1950s were very good to the East End building housing Columbia Records and visited by luminaries like Frank Sinatra. Aesthetically, however "It had a beautiful blue and white, 'Miami Vice' look," joked Steve Israel, who bought the building in 1996. But behind that faade, and its use as a medical office building, Israel saw 11-foot-high ceilings, fantastic light and very thick floors — factors making the building ripe for conversion into condominiums.
It was more than two years ago that Israel and local developer John Guedes began the process of converting an empty, four-story building on the corner of Barnum and Ridgefield avenues into 65 condominiums. Thursday morning, they hosted an official "groundbreaking," attacking piled concrete blocks with sledgehammers, to celebrate the final signing of financing and receipt of approvals. "Not everybody bypassed Bridgeport [in recent years]," Mayor John M. Fabrizi said at the event. "John Guedes has truly believed in the city of Bridgeport."
The Columbia Records development will provide much-needed housing while also stabilizing the neighborhood, Fabrizi said. Guedes, president and chief executive officer of Primrose Cos., expects buyers to move in next fall. "We pulled the skin off and we're going to bring it back to its original design," he said of the circa 1915 concrete building. The 65 units will be a type of loft — the industrial elements such as concrete will remain exposed but there won't be an open floor plan. "It's what I call 'Connecticut lofts,' " Guedes said.
Work has already started inside; ceilings have been stripped and some windows are either out or covered with plastic. Concrete columns are the only structures breaking up the open layout of each floor — at least for now. The building will have four one-bedroom units, 23 two-bedroom/one-bath units and 38 two-bedroom/two-bath units. The market rate condominiums will range from $137,000 to $153,000 for a one-bedroom and from $149,900 to $227,000 for a two-bedroom. Guedes said the units will be about 1,000 square feet. He expects purchasers — there are 20 reservations — to range from young professionals to older people splitting time between Bridgeport and warmer locales.
The $12 million project includes $8.65 million from The Community Preservation Corp. and a $350,000 grant from the city, which comes from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. That money will be used as credits for buyers of seven affordable units. Those units range from $100,000 for a one-bedroom to $125,000 to $135,000 for a two-bedroom unit.
The money coming through CPC, a nonprofit mortgage lender, comes from several banks, in this case, two from out of state and one with a national presence. Fabrizi made a point of expressing his disappointment that none of the banks involved in this financing were local. "I know that they [CPC] approached local banks," the mayor said. While he recognized local banks — he didn't offer names — fund arts and other projects, Fabrizi said it's also important they work on long-term projects such as housing. "I find it very unfortunate that some of our local financial institutions did not step up to the plate."
CPC made its first investment in Connecticut in June, with a $6 million loan for the Lofts 881 condominium project, on Lafayette Boulevard. That project is 50 to 60 percent completed, said Sadie McKeown, regional director of CPC's Connecticut office. She hopes Lofts 881 will have its certificate of occupancy in the spring. The Columbia Records building gives CPC an opportunity to create affordable homes in an emerging market, she said.
One of the buyers of an affordable unit was on hand Thursday to swing a sledgehammer. "The history of it. It's part of history Why not
Source: ConnPost.com