Preservation CT made a difference in downtown Norwich with a loan to stabilize the former Reid & Hughes Department Store. An anchor at the center of Norwich’s National Register downtown District, the Reid & Hughes Building (1888) has been vacant and endangered for over a decade. The commitment of $150,000 from our Revolving Loan Fund to the Women’s Institute toward pre-construction stabilization—the most difficult funding to obtain for a distressed historic property—helped leverage other investments from a consortium of partners, including LISC, CT Main Street, and Capital for Change.
Now with new project partners, the Rehabilitation team was awarded $550,000 through The Norwich Community Development Corporation towards the redevelopment of the Reid & Hughes building. The project will address creating space for two minority-owned businesses on the ground flood and market rate housing. This funding was made possible by CIF 2030 grants through the Department of Economic & Community Development.