Among the several dozen Connecticut projects financed through New Markets Tax Credits is the $34-million redevelopment of the Swift Factory, expected to wrap in the coming year, bringing sorely needed food-related jobs to residents in the distressed section of north Hartford.
The 82,000-square-foot building will soon house a wholesale facility for Bear’s Smokehouse BBQ and an indoor hydroponic operation run by FreshBox Farms, as well as a kitchen incubator, and office and community health space.
“This project would not have been feasible without the New Markets Tax Credits,” said Patrick McKenna, senior project manager of Community Solutions, the nonprofit redeveloper of the Swift Factory. “We felt it was kind of the only option we had to get the capital together.”