Norwich, CT – The Lofts at Ponemah Mills is set to hold an official ribbon cutting ceremony on September 21, 2018 at 1 PM, celebrating the completion of the first phase of apartment homes at the historic mill, located at 607 Norwich Avenue, Taftville, CT. The ceremony commemorates the opening of 116 residential rental units, including 60% affordable and 40% market rate. When complete, the entire 7.4-acre project—consisting of 5 buildings for a total of 450,000sf—will include 314 apartment homes, a museum, a theater room, game rooms, community room with a full size kitchen, full outdoor kitchen with built-in grills, a waterfront park, and fitness center equipped with a sauna and steam room.Lofts at Ponemah Mills Celebrates Ribbon Cutting & Groundbreaking
Immediately following the ribbon cutting including speeches from local and statewide dignitaries, The Lofts at Ponemah Mills will host a groundbreaking ceremony to launch the second phase of the development. A buffet lunch will be served to conclude the celebration of these two remarkable events.
Ponemah Mills, formerly one of the largest cotton mills in the world, has evolved from its acquisition by Onekey in 2007. After engagement by the National Development Council (NDC) and support from the Norwich Community Development Corporation (NCDC) to assist with the reprogramming and financial structuring of the project, the development of The Lofts at Ponemah Mills has seen significant progress in its first of three phases.
“Projects of this size are complicated under the best of circumstances,” said Kevin Gremse, a Senior Director at NDC. “We worked closely with the community and Onekey to ensure this project is a success. Revitalizing this underutilized historic community asset is in perfect alignment with NDC’s mission as an economic development nonprofit.”
NDC and Onekey worked together to prepare a financial plan involving state and federal historic tax credits, affordable housing tax credits, and tax-exempt bonds from the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority. Onekey has invested nearly $10 million to remediate the site and prepare the building for redevelopment. Even though the project is occurring in three phases, this investment had to be completed upfront in order to attract tenants to the building.
The combined ceremonial event reflects The Lofts’ envisioned design, to unite history and modern amenities. Ponemah Mills is situated in The Last Green Valley, a National Heritage Corridor, and has a rich history as a cotton mill and manufacturing facility. The mill brought manifold employment opportunities over the years, at one time boasting more employees than many of the local towns had in population. The collective effort to develop the mills not only allows for the revitalization of the surrounding historic neighborhood but provide its residents with attractive, affordable housing.
Visit Ponemah Mills on social media:
Facebook: facebook.com/ponemahmills
Instagram: instagram.com/theloftsatponemahmillsct
About Onekey
Onekey offers Pre-Construction, Construction Management, General Contracting, Trade Work and Design Build Services to meet client construction needs on every front. From the initial stages of project planning and development through the construction phase and project delivery, Onekey works in conjunction with clients under a variety of contract types and delivery methods. The Methods utilized include lump sum, Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) and negotiated procurement. For more information about Onekey, please visit http://www.onekeyllc.com/home.html.
