Housing Authority to give update on Washington Village

NORWALK — Councilman Ernie Dumas has asked Norwalk Housing Authority officials to update Washington Village residents on their status in the ongoing reconstruction of the public housing complex off Water Street in South Norwalk.

Dumas’ “Call to Action” is scheduled for Thursday from 6 to 8 p.m., at the Housing Authority’s Choice Neighborhoods Initiative Office, 149 Water St. The office is on the second floor of the building.

“It’s about the tenants in Washington Village, because we want clarity with what’s going on at Washington Village,” said Dumas, a District B Democrat. “It’s about when they’re all going to be moved out and the other part of it is we don’t want any other buildings torn down before everybody is out.”

Dumas said health concerns exist amid the ongoing construction.

Norwalk Housing Authority Executive Director Adam Bovilsky will attend Thursday’s meeting to answer questions and provide an update on the Washington Village transformation project, Dumas said.

Information will be provided on the status of current Washington Village residents, who expect to move into the new apartments, the actual number of residents who will move into those apartments and the demolition schedule and projected com- pletion date for the third phase of the project, according to Dumas.

The Norwalk Housing Authority is rebuilding Washington Village under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Choice Neighborhoods Program. The goal of the program is to build highquality, mixed-income housing, to provide children and families with educational and other services, and to spur public and private investment.

Trinity Financial, the Boston-based developer charged with rebuilding Washington Village, has largely completed the first phase of the project with construction of 80 apartments in two buildings at 13 and 20 Day St.

The Housing Authority hopes to start phase two — construction of a new 85-unit building on the south side of Raymond Street, between Day and Water streets — before the end of 2018.

“It’s about the tenants in Washington Village, because we want clarity with what’s going on at Washington Village. It’s about when they’re all going to be moved out and the other part of it is we don’t want any other buildings torn down before everybody is out.” Ernie Dumas, Norwalk City Council member