CREW Blue Ribbon Awards Program Book 2022

Montgomery Mill Windsor Locks, CT

Montgomery Mill is the adaptive reuse of a historic, long-vacant mill building in downtown Windsor Locks that has been transformed into 160 units of mixed-income housing. Developed by Beacon Communities, the project required a complex financing structure involving multiple public and private sources, including 9% LIHTCs, federal and state historic credits, loans from the CT DOH and DECD, and an innovative Tax Increment Financing loan, among other sources. Of the 160 units, 82 are affordable to households earning at or below 80% of Area Median Income, and the balance are leased at market rents. Its location offers an exceptional transit-oriented development opportunity: located at the gateway into Windsor Locks and within walking distance to many community amenities, it is down the street from a planned regional train station. The Mill’s transformation is the catalyst to a broader revitalization effort in downtown Windsor Locks, and the Town of Windsor Locks won a 2020 Connecticut Main Street Center Award of Excellence for its planning efforts, of which the Montgomery Mill renovation was a central part. The project required creative design solutions to restore a dilapidated, highly visible historic building that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and on a complicated site: located in a floodplain and on a brownfields site, the parcel also involves a state park that runs along one of the site’s perimeters, and the Town of Windsor Locks also developed a picnic area onsite for the public’s use. Crosskey Architects and Beacon Concepts led the design team and created a beautiful product that incorporated historic features – like original doors and a historic safe -and honored the building’s original feel and history. Owner : BC Montgomery Mill LLC, c/o Beacon Communities LLC

Size : 160 Units - 223,000 sf

Project Team: Town of Windsor Locks, Crosskey Architects, Beacon Concepts, Keith Construction, Inc., Fuss & O'Neill, Connecticut Housing Finance Authority, Connecticut Department of Housing, Connecticut Department of Economic & Community Development, Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection, Connecticut State Historic Preservation Office, National Park Service, Bank of America, Eversource, BlueHub Capital

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