The Capital Region Development Authority has lent out about $150 million for private development projects over the past decade, like the $12 million it granted to RMS Cos.’ nearly completed 270-unit apartment building next to Dunkin’ Donuts Park. RMS needed $13.5 million from CRDA, but the agency wasn’t able to deliver the final $1.5 million. At the time, Stanley Black & Decker and Cigna Corp. stepped in to fill the financing gap. Believing deep-pocketed corporations or other entities would probably like to support Hartford housing and redevelopment projects, CRDA worked with state and local officials to create a streamlined process. Language was inserted into the General Assembly’s budget implementer bill in 2022, Freimuth said, and the proposal underwent a state ethics review. The result is a clear process that allows benefactors to loan money to favored CRDA-affiliated projects in Hartford without unintentional conflicts.
https://www.hartfordbusiness.com/article/crda-program-will-allow-deep-pocketed-benefactors-to-loan-money-to-hartford-development