WILLIMANTIC HOUSING AUTHORITY

Windham/Willimantic, Connecticut

HOMEINTRODUCTIONOUR STAFFOUR HISTORYNEWS

History Part #2

On July 29, 1946, A Special Meeting of the Willimantic Board of Aldermen adopted a resolution providing for the organization of the Housing Authority of the City of Willimantic. The following day, Mayor Andrew J. Carey appointed the first five commissioners who, on August 13, 1946, passed Resolution #1 to establish the Authority and ratify its by-laws.

Once organized, the Authority immediately began working to fulfill its mission, calling a Special Meeting on August 14th and passing a resolution to request 50 Quonset Huts from the Federal Public Housing Authority in Boston and $50,000 from the City of Willimantic "to finance the moving of said Quonset Huts to Willimantic and erecting and outfitting same." Ultimately, 21 of the 16' x 36' huts were actually erected in the area now occupied by West Avenue. Rent, including utilities, was set at $25.00 per month.

In September and October of 1947, the Housing Authority Board began seeking property to erect a permanent housing development. A parcel of land off Jackson Street was purchased for $15,000 and, on May 17, 1948, the State of Connecticut approved a loan in the amount of $304,600 for the construction of the Authority's first permanent development, Terry Court. Later that same year, an additional $336,000 was allocated to build additional units on an adjacent parcel of land. The project was completed in two phases, with the first tenants moving in during the fall of 1949. A total of 68 duplex units were ultimately built.

Terry Court was still in the construction stage in September 1949 when the Authority applied to the Federal government for funds to build 400 units of public housing to replace the temporary quonset huts and also applied to the State of Connecticut for a loan to build Eastman Terrace, often called Memorial Drive. The State development was completed in 1950 and the federal project, reduced to 100 units and named Nathan Hale Terrace, was ready for occupancy in 1952. In November of 1955, a fifth family development was completed, the State funded Hevrin Terrace on Emerald Avenue and Keating Streets. After this, no more family public housing was to be built in Windham. In the future the emphasis was to shift to providing housing for the area's rapidly increasing population of senior citizens.

Home Introduction Our Staff Our History News
Family Housing Elderly Housing Section 8 Programs Links

web site design by goinhome.com