HARTFORD, Conn. — Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam granted an extension Monday for tenants displaced from the Concord Hill Apartments to stay in their temporary hotels until Jan. 10, 2025.
Concord Hills tenants have been hoping for the extension, which pushes the end date for their temporary housing from December to January.
“I’m overwhelmed, I’m happy we got an extension, but still I don’t know where I’m going to go if those apartments are not ready,” said Marisol Navarro, a Concord Hills tenant.
Navarro and many other tenants have been staying at the Candlewood Suites in Hartford after a fire on Sherbrook Avenue ripped through their Concord Hills Apartments building in August.
One of the tenants, Dave Richardson, described his difficult living situation from within his temporary hotel room.
“There's not enough space to put the stuff you need, so you either go searching for your clothes every day or you just leave it in a place you can find it if you need to leave in a hurry,” Richardson said.
He never thought he would be living in this situation. He moved to Connecticut from Florida, hoping to work before retirement, but he suffered a stroke in 2021 and is now on disability.
“I’m on an SSI disability, I make $1,749 a month,” Richardson said. “Paying $850 is almost 65% of my income. If I was to go to a one-bedroom apartment, it’s $1,200; I’d be paying almost 75% or higher of my income.”
The mayor suggested more affordable apartments for the tenants to seek out, but their concern is that they aren’t safe.
“The ones that he offered are in drug-infested, crime-ridden neighborhoods,” Richardson said. “Places where nobody wants to live in. I’m not accustomed to living in those type of neighborhoods and it’s hard for me to go back or even live there.”
Sarah White, Connecticut Fair Housing center staff attorney, said the situation has gone on for too long.
“You know, much of [the Sherbrook Avenue] building just has smoke damage or water damage that could be remediated,” White said. “What’s been frustrating is that there have been long periods of time where no work has been done.”
Arulampalam stated the same frustration Monday afternoon. The city and the landlord group, GreyHill, signed an agreement, with affected units supposed to be repaired by Dec. 10.
“It’s important to note they have been receiving insurance payments, getting wealthy off of this property while it is vacant, and still not making the necessary repairs they need to make to get these tenants in there,” Arulampalam said.
Kaye Paddyfote is a multimedia journalist for FOX61 News. She can be reached at kpaddyfote@fox61.com. Follow her on X, Facebook and Instagram.
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