Trinity College Neighborhood Initiative to Create Community of Learning

Represents $175 Million New Investment in Hartford

Hartford, Conn., Jan. 14, 1996 -- Trinity College has announced a comprehensive neighborhood revitalization initiative for the neighborhoods surrounding its campus. The plan, which represents a $175 million investment in Hartford, will generate approximately $100 million in new construction and development and is supported by Fannie Mae, which has earmarked $75 million in new low-rate mortgage financing for people who buy homes in the area.

The initiative, which will create an infrastructure for local families and link neighborhood institutions in an unprecedented collaboration, is designed to establish the neighborhoods surrounding Trinity as a central hub of educational, health and family support activities. It represents a global neighborhood equation that includes an educational component spanning grades K-12 and a science component focusing on health and technology. Three new schools, a new health and technology center, an early childhood and family resource center, and a boys and girls club are to be established in the target area. The initiative also calls for the wiring of the neighborhood to connect major institutions and provide residential units access to computer networks and educational resources.

"We have formed an extraordinary partnership between major health and educational institutions, the public and private sectors, city, state and federal government, and community and neighborhood groups that share a stake in the future of this area and are committed to its revitalization," said Trinity College President Evan S. Dobelle.

A key element of the initiative is the development of a new Allied Health and Technology Center on a vacant site near Trinity's campus. This hands-on science laboratory will be a collaborative effort involving five institutions located in that area: Trinity, Hartford Hospital, the Connecticut Children's Medical Center, the Institute of Living, and Connecticut Public Television (CPTV). Trinity and the three medical institutions are partners in the Southside Institutions Neighborhood Alliance (SINA). The Allied Health and Technology Center will include a hands-on laboratory, major exhibits, exhibit construction and a research division. The initial focus will be in the areas of health, physiological sciences and sports performance, robotics, biomedical engineering and the Internet/World Wide Web.

Home ownership is another key element. "Fannie Mae welcomes the opportunity to support the $75 million housing component of this comprehensive targeted neighborhood plan. This major step by Trinity, and the commitment of its SINA partners and the City to home ownership in these neighborhoods, is critical to the revitalization of Hartford," said Robert Kantor, director of the Fannie Mae Hartford Partnership Office. "The effort by Trinity fits neatly with our HouseHartford plan which is based on linking housing to community economic development initiatives." This Fannie Mae commitment represents a second commitment to Hartford in less than a year.

"The goal is to stabilize the neighborhoods from within," said Dobelle. "Our focus is on children and education, and the real key is home ownership and families with a vested interest in the survival of their neighborhoods. This is not about gentrification but rather about the difficult task of community-building, and we will use an approach that is inclusive, not condescending."

The three schools encompassed in the plan are a Montessori magnet elementary school, fully funded by an existing state appropriation, a Hartford Middle School, fully funded by city bond funds, and a middle and/or high school science and math resource center. The specific program for the latter school and regional resource center is being developed in collaboration with area school superintendents. The Allied Health and Technology Center will be financed with existing public financing (federal, state and municipal) bolstered by an institutional commitment from the SINA partners.

Of CPTV's participation in the collaborative effort, Dobelle said, "We have an extraordinary opportunity to establish Hartford as the national leader in distance learning for science and mathematics." An example of specific initiatives under discussion is the linking of CPTV channels directly into the new Allied Health and Technology Center, creating a statewide in-school network. According to CPTV President Jerry Franklin, programming would originate at the new center and would be distributed to all K-12 schools in the state via CPTV's Knowledge Network.

Development plans for these synergistic initiatives are focused primarily in the block bounded by Vernon Street, Brownell Avenue, Trinity's campus and the hospitals on Washington Street.

Trinity College Initiative Generates Enthusiastic Support from Community, Public Officials and Others

Governor John G. Rowland said of the Trinity initiative:"I'm proud to be governor of a state that is home to historic institutions like Trinity that are prepared to step forward to make a difference for our cities."

Hartford Mayor Mike Peters praised Trinity President Evan Dobelle as a new leader in Hartford. "As I said at Evan's inauguration in October, 'Go Trinity! Go Hartford!' Now, 90 days later, Evan has stepped to the plate and hit a home run. This is magnificent for the city. The city needs doers."

John O'Connell, member of Hartford's City Council, said of the initiative: "It is unprecedented for the non-profit sector to take this kind of leadership role and put its time, effort and money where its mouth is. This is why I'm prepared to stand by Trinity and a president who knows how to get things done."

In Washington, D.C., Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Assistant Secretary Michael Stegman praised Trinity and its partners. "HUD has been committed to this idea ever since Evan Dobelle first presented it to Secretary Cisneros. We see Trinity's college partnership as a model for economic development in cities across the country. We are committed to providing the full level of support necessary to see the project succeed, particularly in light of the linkage to -- and Trinity's leadership role in -- the Charter Oaks project." Raymond Jordan of HUD's Hartford office said, "What Trinity is doing here with this project is jump-starting Hartford."

Robert Kantor, director of the Fannie Mae Hartford Partnership Office, said: "Fannie Mae welcomes the opportunity to support the $75 million housing component of this comprehensive targeted neighborhood plan. This major step by Trinity, and the commitment of its SINA partners and the City to home ownership in these neighborhoods, is critical to the revitalization of Hartford. The effort by Trinity fits neatly with our HouseHartford plan which is based on linking housing to community economic development initiatives."

Jose Perez, [former] executive director of SINA, said: "President Dobelle has listened to us and worked with us. More importantly, he has invited us to continue to be part of this effort at the grassroots level. Evan has taken us from an incremental approach -- building one house at a time -- to building a community."

Reaction from James Boucher, executive director of the neighborhood group Hartford Areas Rally Together (HART), was positive. "Finally, in our 20th year, HART has found a partner who understands partnership. Evan Dobelle and Trinity have opened the gates, and they're not paying lip service to a neighborhood agenda. Without doubt, this $175 million is just the start. The train is moving."

David Martinez, neighborhood activist and former head of HART, said: "I have been working on a Frog Hollow neighborhood revitalization plan for four years. Trinity's plan finally puts us on the map. From now on, I consider my neighborhood 'Trinity Heights.'"

Southern New England Telephone (SNET) executive William Hunniford said: "SNET is very excited to be part of Trinity's initiative and excited about the opportunity to participate in community-building. We look forward to supporting the effort by providing access to the information superhighway through ISNET, which currently is being installed in Hartford."

John Preysner, member of the board of the Boys & Girls Club of Connecticut, said: "We are very positive about this. We see this as an opportunity to expand the Club into that neighborhood and align ourselves with these major institutions in Hartford."

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