Funding for Winsted Health Center Transformation Celebrated: “Our veterans deserve it.”

WINSTED – Sen. Stephen Harding and Rep. Jay Case today applauded an expected $1.6 million in initial funding for the restoration and repurposing of the Winsted Health Center’s campus at 115 Spencer St.

The funding, which comes through the Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD), is included on the Community Investment Fund’s (CIF) Sep. 24 meeting agenda.

“This is fantastic news for our region,” Sen. Harding said. “Rep. Case and I have long been champions for this funding. We thank the governor and DECD for supporting this very worthy project which aims to address high housing costs as well as gaps in local employment training.”

Rep. Case said, “Providing the men and women who have honorably served our country with veteran-focused affordable housing and additional workforce training space is crucial. This investment addresses housing shortages and will provide resources to get more veterans integrated within our state’s workforce. Sen. Harding and I applaud CIF’s action on the project recommendation and look forward to seeing it come to fruition – our veterans deserve it.”

“We’re continuing our upward climb with this latest good news,” said Kris Griffin, Executive Director of the Winsted Health Center. “Today’s recommendation that we receive an additional $1.6 million from the Community Investment Fund will enable us to complete our required pre-construction items to then allow us to return to CIF to present a ‘shovel ready’ project for construction financing. Each forward step we make, whether through our state funding sources, federal sources, or private sources, brings us a step closer to making our transformative, innovative, one-of-a-kind project a reality.”

Griffin thanked the CIF Board and the State’s Department of Economic and Community Development, together with Winsted legislators Rep. Jay Case and Sen. Stephen Harding, “for their continued confidence expressed in our development, not only through ongoing financial assistance but also through their extensive support voiced so many times and in so many places. It’s truly gratifying to see the enthusiasm and encouragement of our elected and appointed officials, which in turn gives us added enthusiasm and resolve to bring this development to fruition.”

The project will ultimately create new economic opportunities by repurposing existing infrastructure into an affordable housing and workforce development hub that will provide vocational training in high demand manufacturing job skills and support for entrepreneurial endeavors.

The project will also seek to provide underserved community members, especially veterans, transitioning active-duty personnel, reservists with industry-relevant manufacturing and entrepreneurial skills by offering customized in-class workshops and hands-on training in manufacturing in Connecticut’s aerospace, defense, medical, and automation industries.

More about the CIF here.