$5 million in upgrades announced for Terry Court

Jan. 14—WILLIMANTIC — During a press conference in Willimantic Friday, Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz said there is a significant need for affordable housing in Eastern Connecticut, referring to several large employers in the region, including the University of Connecticut and Eastern Connecticut State University.

She said it is a priority of Gov. Ned Lamont and hers to create more afford- able, quality housing in the state and make sure existing housing is acceptable.

While standing inside a vacant house at the Terry Court complex, Bysiewicz announced that $5 million in state funding was awarded for upgrades to the complex.

"We want to make sure that our young people graduating from Eastern and UConn have nice places to live," she said.

Connecticut Department of Housing Commissioner Selia Mosquera-Bruno, State Sen. Mae Flexer, D- Willimantic, State Rep. Susan Johnson, D- Willimantic, Mayor Thomas DeVivo, Willimantic Housing Authority Executive Director Kimberly Haddad and Terry Court resident Neila Benway also spoke during the press conference.

Terry Court, a moderate- income housing complex run by the Willimantic Housing Authority, is on Hope Street. Haddad said the $5 million in state funding includes $2 million from the state's Community Development Block Grant program and $3 million from the state bond commission.

The CDBG funding was part of a $13.4 million package announced by Lamont in December that included funding for Windham and six other municipalities.

Municipalities with populations less than 50,000 are eligible for CDBG grants, which are administered by the Connecticut Department of Housing.

Work that will be done at Terry Court includes the following: replacing existing windows, siding, roofing, gutters, downspouts,

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