Kara Rochelle

New ADA-compliant residential units, upgrades to Community Building Planned

Rep. Kara Rochelle applauded the announcement of $1 million in state aid awarded to Derby’s Housing Authority for improvements to Cicia Manor, which provides housing to elderly and disabled residents.

The funding, administered by the State Department of Housing with resources from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, is part of $13 million in Community Development Block Grants awarded to 13 municipalities across the state after a competitive application process. The grants will help provide infrastructure upgrades that will modernize and rehabilitate housing for low and moderate-income individuals.

“I want to thank and praise all parties, as this was a true team effort. Of note, a warm thank you to Derby Housing Authority Chair Linda Fusco for spearheading these effort, coordinating state and local officials, and being the soul and force behind the work. I’d also like to thank Derby Housing Authority Commissioner Adam Pacheco for joining me in Hartford to meet with State Department of Housing officials to advocate for Derby’s needs; Grant Writers Patty Finn and Peter Testa for their well-crafted application; Derby’s State Elderly Coordinator Ellen Oczkowski who coordinated much of the local data, Mayor Dzieken and the Derby legislative delegation Rep. Klarides, Rep. Klarides-Ditria, and Senator Logan for their letter of support; Governor Lamont, State DOH Commissioner Seila Mosquera-Bruno, and her team for seeing the value in allocating resources to our community, and many others who have had their hand in bringing this to fruition for our residents. When we work together, good things happen.”

The proposed scope of work for Cicia Manor is to create three new ADA-Compliant residential units and make ADA upgrades to the Community Building. The kitchen area will be renovated. The existing bathrooms will be redesigned to address access, floor space, turning radius, approach zones and clearances. The electric baseboard heating system will be supplemented with a heat pump significantly reducing electrical usage, and generator installation will allow the Community Building to be used as a place of refuge for all residents in the event of power outages.