Brooks Quarry Awarded $450K State Grant

By Michael Steele

Brooks Quarry, a little known elderly affordable independent living housing complex, owned by the Brookfield Housing Authority (BHA) was awarded $450,000 by the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority (CHFA) to upgrade their sanitary sewer system. “The award was the culmination of a team effort by BHA, the Brookfield Water Pollution Control Authority (WPCA), the Brookfield Selectmen and the Connecticut Department of Housing (DOH) to improve the quality of life and ensure the health and safety of our tenants” said Michael Steele, Chairman of the BHA.

Brooks Quarry consists of nine ranch style cottages on a quiet 16 acre campus off of Laurel Hill Road about 1 mile North of Four Corners in Brookfield and is served by the HART scheduled bus service between Danbury and New Milford. The campus has 27 studio/efficiency apartments that are 475 square feet and 8 one-bedroom apartments that are 525 square feet, of which 4 are compliant with ADA accessibility standards. Residents must be at least 62 years old or designated as disabled by the Social Security Administration. Rich Groski, the BHA Executive Director, pointed out that “there are no other moderately priced apartments serving modest income elderly people in Brookfield”.

Brooks Quarry is also applying for a $2 million Capital Needs Grant to update and modernize the apartments, the campus landscaping and the curb appeal of the buildings. The Grant is expected to be awarded in 2018 and with construction beginning in 2019. According to Steele, “this investment will make Brooks Quarry a competitive housing solution for elderly people that would like to down-size or move to Brookfield to be closer to friends and family”.

Applications are now being accepted for the efficiency/studio units. The current rent is $400 for an efficiency/studio and $460 for a one- bedroom unit. The minimum annual income requirement is $22,640 for an efficiency/studio and $24,240 for a one-bedroom unit. Total income may not exceed $49,600 for an individual or $56,650 for a couple.

The application may be obtained by calling the Brooks Quarry office 203-775-1403 or by e-mailing bhadocs@gmail.com.

Photo via Google maps