As a Boston-based developer prepares to start building 100 mixed-income apartments in an affluent Farmington Valley suburb, the state is kicking in $3 million to help with the second phase that will add another 76 affordable units.
Beacon Communities LLC, one of the country’s biggest affordable housing builders, has been planning a major residential development at the former Security-Connecticut Life Insurance building in Avon since 2021.
After years of arranging financing and securing permits, Beacon is poised to break ground next year on 100 new apartments that it will build on the grounds of the former office building on Security Drive in Avon. That project is called The Homes at Avon Park, and about 85 of the units are expected to be priced at state-designated affordable rates.
Earlier this year the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority awarded $2.1 million in federal housing tax credits for the second phase, Avon Village. That $39 million initiative involves remodeling the four-story office headquarters itself. The Connecticut Bond Commission on Thursday approved a low-interest $3 million loan to advance it.
“Avon Village is phase two of our redevelopment of the underutilized office park on Security Drive,” Chief Executive Officer Dara Kovel of Beacon said Thursday. “This phase involves the adaptive reuse of an office building into 76 affordable apartment homes.
“Today’s funding award from the state Bond Commission is the next milestone in the process. We expect to purchase the property before year end, with construction starting in late spring or summer.”
The building is about 50 years old, and most recently was temporary home of the Ana Grace Academy until the school relocated to Bloomfield mid-2022.
Beacon first proposed a fresh vision for the Avon Park South office park property during the pandemic, and drew support from town leaders. The town had a little over 4% of its housing qualified as affordable then, and its 2022 five-year plan for affordable housing cited the Security Drive proposal as a factor that would help boost the percentage.
“These units will continue Avon’s progress toward the 10% affordability threshold” desired by the state, the plan says. “But there is a recognition that achieving that number will be a process that will extend well past the five-year scope of this first Affordable Housing Plan.”
As of last year, the state listed Avon at 4.15%.
“Avon is committed to increasing the availability of affordable housing,” Town Manager Brandon Robertson said Thursday. “These projects clearly achieve this objective and the location is ideal. Residents will be within easy walking and biking distance to the Avon Village Center which provides shopping services. The Avon Canal Heritage Trail can also be easily accessed from this location. It is an excellent project conceived by a developer with a long history of success.”
Beacon plans one- and two-bedroom apartments, along with amenities including a community room and kitchen, fitness spaces, a playground, walking trails, dog runs and more.
Avon will be Beacon’s 11th market in Connecticut. The company already owns income-restricted apartment complexes in New Haven, Stamford, Bridgeport, Branford, Windsor Locks, Wolcott, New Britain, Southington, Waterbury and Bristol.
The company advertises that it has more than 20,000 apartments in 11 states. The trade publication Affordable Housing Finance listed it in 2024 among the Top 30 affordable housing owners of the year.