New London backs trio of historic, cultural and innovative projects

“We appreciate it whenever the city is able to provide resources to assist us. They’ve helped us out at various times over the past 30 years.” STEVE SIGEL, GARDE ARTS CENTER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

New London — The city is providing a financial boost to three local organizations looking to reinvest in the city with projects that are innovative, support the arts and preserve a bit of history.

The City Council approved a $20,000 grant to RD86, which runs a popular downtown restaurant, to design a new roof for a patio at its 86 Golden St. location and help defray costs of design of a new downtown event venue.

A second grant, for $56,000, was awarded to the Garde Arts Center for work on the historic Garde Arts Theater stage house — the brick structure that encompasses the stage area of the theater with a 60-foot-tall wall facing Governor Winthrop Boulevard.

Garde Executive Director Steve Sigel said debris and dust is falling on performers and equipment from the interior of the nearly 100-year-old stage house because of missing brick and mortar. The money will help with repointing of wall joints, replacement of bricks, patching and waterproofing of the exterior.

The project is just one part of a larger capital improvement plan at the theater that includes a roof replacement on a block of buildings at Meridian Street, replacement of an asbestos stage curtain that dates to 1926 and rehabilitation of the façade at the Garde’s lobby.

“We appreciate it whenever the city is able to provide resources to assist us. They’ve helped us out at various times over the past 30 years,” Sigel said.

Money for the grants comes from proceeds from the $650,000 sale of the city’s Parcel J property at the corner of Bank and Howard streets. The money was used to supplement the Housing Community Fund and support community and economic development initiatives managed through the Office of Development and Planning.

Felix Reyes, the city’s development and planning director, said development money is being reinvested in projects with diverse community and economic impacts.

Along with the grants, the city is providing New London Landmarks with a $30,000 no-interest loan from a revolving loan fund to aid the nonprofit’s attempts to rehabilitate and sell a historic home at 23 Franklin St., the former

home of NAACP President Linwood Bland Jr.

The money will help Landmarks leverage Connecticut Housing Tax Credit Contribution program proceeds and other funding sources for the project. Landmarks bought the property for $10,500 at a tax auction last year and plans to convert it into a single-family home to be sold to a family earning 50 percent or less than the area median income.

“Once the work is complete, 23 Franklin Street will provide an income-qualified buyer with an opportunity for affordable homeownership and will be a model for how historic preservation and affordable housing can go hand in hand,” Landmarks Executive Director Laura Natusch said.

The home was built in 1845 by Edward Hempstead and is listed as a contributing resource to the Hempstead Historic District, part of the National Register of Historic Places. The home will be added back to the city’s tax roll while providing Landmarks with much-needed revenue from the sale.

“We can’t thank the City of New London and the City Council enough for believing in this project and supporting it with a revolving loan fund. This will not only help us make necessary repairs on its own, but will also enable us to leverage other funding sources,” Natusch said.

She said the group hadn’t undertaken a project like this since it bought and rehabilitated the David Bishop House at 49 Washington St., where Landmarks’ office is located, several decades ago.

“Fortunately, members of our board of directors, including an architect, a historic preservation consultant, a general contractor and an architectural intern, have decades of relevant experience,” Natusch said.

Councilor Marty Olsen, who is also a member of the Landmarks board of directors, said he thought the projects were a good use of Parcel J proceeds.

“I’m comfortable with what the administration brought forward. Hannah Gant (co-founder of RD86 and Spark Makerspace) has a pretty good track record in the downtown area. Anything we can do to support the Garde, I’m always for. The Garde is a community treasure,” Olsen said.