The city is seeking state financial aid to complete a long-awaited but financially troubled East End commercial project billed as transformative for that neighborhood. Mayor Joe Ganim’s administration has applied to the new Community Investment Fund the legislature established last year for $4.4 million for developer Anthony Stewart’s Honey Locust Square. The East End-raised Stewart’s Ashlar Construction was selected in 2018 to transform the dilapidated commercial block on Stratford Avenue between Newfield and Central avenues. At a recent public meeting with the City Council, William Coleman, Bridgeport’s deputy director of economic development, revealed that Stewart does not have the money to finish. This is not the first time Stewart has faced issues with cost overruns. Ashlar was hired by the library board pre-pandemic to build a new East End branch adjacent to Honey Locust Square. That state-of-the-art building opened in the spring.
https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/Bridgeport-Developer-lacks-funds-to-finish-East-17401343.php