It's been over a year since the Planning and Zoning Commission (PZC) gave Bluebird Construction LLC the go-ahead to turn the old Borough School into 20 apartments. However, over the past couple of months, the company's Constantine Constantinou has been before the Board of Selectmen asking for a tax abatement. At the most recent meeting, the board voted two to one to approve a plan.
During the November 6, 2024, meeting, Constantinou once a gain presented his case, telling the board that the state is experiencing an issue with housing for low-income people and veterans. To address this problem, towns provide incentives to developers, and he has received tax abatements in other towns where he has similar housing projects, such as Hartford and South Windsor. Additionally, he argued that he is taking a building that has been vacant for more than a decade and repurposing it. "You kill a lot of birds with one stone," he said.
Constantinou said the project had been a huge expense as it ran into an issue with the title, and asbestos removal was needed. He pointed out that the town had helped him with the sewer bill for the new building, which Selectman Rick Hartenstein, who is also the superintendent of the Water Pollution Control Authority (WPCA), explained was not a discount but a payment plan. The addition of the 20 new apartments to the town's sewer costs $60,000, but the WPCA worked with Constantinou to spread the cost out over three years.
Selectman Kurt Vail, the lone vote against the tax abatement, reiterated his objections from the last meeting where this was discussed. He said that all of the work that was needed was taken into consideration when the town negotiated the sale price ($275,000) for the building with Constantinou and that a tax abatement should have been discussed at the time the deal was made. "This opens a Pandora's Box," he said, worried that this could set a precedent for any developer who comes to town. Vail also pointed out that in his capacity as State Representative, he worked with the Attorney General to help Constantinou resolve the title issue with the property.
Hartenstein said he thought this was a unique situation as the building had not been on the tax rolls previously (though Constantinou has already paid at least part of this year's taxes) and presented a specific plan for the board to consider. Essentially, next year, Constantinou would be responsible for 25% of the taxes; the following year, it would go up to 50%, and then 75%, finally getting back to 100% by the fourth year.
First Selectman Bill Morrison said he thought this decision would not be precedent-setting as it's a historic building that the town wants to see stay the same. Chair of the Board of Finance, Steve Geryk, was in the audience and expressed concern about the possibility of a tax abatement, saying he mostly agreed with Vail on the issue. He did express the need for affordable housing in town, but wondered how it would be tracked.
Constantinou said that it is deed restricted, and per the 8-30g statute he used to squeeze in more units than the town's zoning regulations allow, he has to set aside 30% of the units for affordable housing. In a past PZC meeting he said the units would rent for:
1 bedroom - $1,159
2 bedrooms - $1,296
3 bedrooms - $1,699
Geryk also pointed out that the 100% exemption of property and motor vehicle tax for veterans with a total and permanent disability that Vail worked to pass at the state level was going to cost Stafford a lot of money. The discussion continued with multiple members of the audience chiming in, but eventually it came down to a vote and the plan presented by Hartenstein passed.