City of Hartford issued the following announcement on April 11.
HARTFORD’S SWIFT FACTORY RENOVATION EFFORT RECEIVES $3.7 MILLION INVESTMENT FROM U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
HARTFORD, CONN (April 11, 2022) – Today, Mayor Luke Bronin joined Congressman John Larson, Community Solutions International, Inc., Hartford Public Library CEO Bridget Quinn, and community leaders to celebrate a $3.7 million grant for the renovation of the Swift Factory. The grant, provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration, is funded by the American Rescue Plan.
This grant will be used to build out a workforce training center and other small business expansion spaces at Swift Factory, a former gold leaf factory which sat vacant and deteriorating for many years. The $34 million renovation of the 65,000-square-foot Swift Factory has focused on creating jobs, engaging the community in North Hartford, and supporting local small businesses.
“Thanks to the tireless work of Community Solutions, our North Hartford NRZs and community members, and our federal delegation, among so many others, the Swift Factory has once again become a job-creator and economic engine in North Hartford,” said Mayor Bronin. “The Swift Factory is now home to a number of rapidly-growing businesses, and will soon be home to the new Hartford Public Library branch. This new EDA grant will allow us to build on that momentum and double-down on the efforts to support local entrepreneurs and job-seekers in North Hartford."
“For too long, Hartford’s North End has faced economic disregard and abandonment resulting in deteriorating housing stock and dwindling job opportunities for residents,” said Senator Richard Blumenthal. “This federal grant to spur minority-owned business growth and train workers is a force multiplier for economic growth in this neighborhood, community, and greater Hartford area.”
“Swift Factory could have become a post-industrial wasteland when it was abandoned, but thanks to federal funding, it is turning into a vibrant hub for nonprofits, schools, and minority- and women-owned businesses in the North End of Hartford. This infusion of almost $4 million from the American Rescue Plan will help bring in even more tenants, create new jobs, and provide a major boost to local economy,” said Senator Chris Murphy.
“This $3.7 million grant will build on years-long efforts to revitalize Hartford’s Swift Factory,” said Congressman John B. Larson (CT-01). “We enhanced the Economic Adjustment Assistance program by passing the American Rescue Plan to spur job growth in communities that were hit hardest by this pandemic, like Hartford’s North End. Through the creation of a workforce training center and expanded opportunities for small businesses at Swift, this project will be an engine of economic opportunity, supporting new jobs and sustained economic growth in North Hartford.”
"We are excited by opportunities this funding provides to create new pathways to generational wealth and economic empowerment for the North Hartford community. The funding allows us to work with our community partners to provide meaningful employment, workforce training and small business opportunities in a community that has long suffered from a history of disinvestments, disproportionately low household income and high unemployment rates," said John Thomas, Community Solutions assistant project manager, community engagement & social media.
Hartford Public Library’s newest branch, which was launched in March, be an anchor tenant of the Swift Factory. It will use 15,000 square feet for library services and an innovative learning center. The branch will offer entrepreneurial classes, technology training, GED and pre-GED classes, citizenship classes, and technical workforce training. Construction of the library and job training center is expected to be completed within 18 months with a target groundbreaking in the fall of 2022.
“These federal funds are crucial to achieving our goal of creating a space where North Hartford residents of all ages can have access to life-changing educational and job training opportunities,” said Hartford Public Library President and CEO Bridget E. Quinn. “We are incredibly grateful to our partners at Community Solutions as well as our congressional delegation for their support of our grant application, and we are eager to get to work on this project.”
“The Swift Factory is a brick-and-mortar community hub that provides North End residents with the resources and supports they need to excel,” said Courtenay Jackson, North Hartford Promise Zone Director. “It is exciting to see what started as just an idea—redeveloping a building that was once a pillar in the community—come to fruition and become a key community asset once again. It's just as exciting to know that the North Hartford Promise Zone residents have been active participants on this journey, and we thank Community Solutions for their partnership.”
This grant was funded under the EDA’s American Rescue Plan Economic Adjustment Assistance program, which makes $500 million in Economic Adjustment Assistance grants available to American communities. The Economic Adjustment Assistance program grants aim to help communities plan, build, innovate, and put people back to work through construction or non-construction projects designed to meet local needs.
The Swift Factory is a historic building that began as a Gold Leafing manufacturing company right in North Hartford. After its decline in the late 20th century, it closed its doors permanently in 2005. After Community Solutions, a nationally-renowned nonprofit organization dedicated to ending homelessness and the conditions that create it, acquired the Swift Factory, it began work to renovate the building, which was completed in 2020 and already houses several small businesses.
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