A series of entries designed to capture the ongoing adventures of NINA! See how we came to be where we are today, and follow along as we enter the new century of social media!
Page: 42
We just dig buildings in twilight.
A couple of days ago, Morgan Ferrarotti of The Hartford got in touch with us. For awhile now, The Hartford has had a model kitchen on display in its main lobby, but the exhibit is now coming to an end. Morgan wanted to know: could NINA use a new kitchen?
It's not the sort of offer we get everyday, but Ken Johnson and MIke Stockman went over to have a look and take some measurements. It's actually lovely -- it's a "butcher block" with everything it, from cabinets to the stove to electric outlet to, yes, the kitchen sink. It was designed to keep everything low and within reach, which reminded us of the kitchen we installed over at 1 Imlay, but really this one was made with seniors in mind. And it bears the AARP seal of approval, AARP being a co-sponsor of this model kitchen exhibit with The Hartford.
Just plain dumb luck, but it looks like the kitchen on the second floor at 94 Ashley Street is big enough for this kitchen. The stars may really have aligned for us on this one!
Here's a better look at it. Many thanks to the Hartford United Methodist Church!
We made the local news this evening, but we’re not bothering with the link to it because the local news media preferred to ask Governor Malloy something about state politics or some other such nonsense, blah blah blah. They should have asked him about the building! Which is why he was there in the first place. Or perhaps the local news media didn’t forgive us for that podium snafu after all ….
We did have one small snafu: the podium was initially placed in a less than ideal location for the news media. Fortunately, Governor Malloy drafted Mayor Bronin and Representative Ritter into action, and we had the problem solved quickly!
The podium, by the way, was provided by the Hartford United Methodist Church.
After the ribbon cutting, we opened up the building for everyone to have a look.
Lynda Godkin, NINA’s Board Chair, served as emcee for the ceremony. Speakers included:
Dannel Malloy, Governor, State of Connecticut
Luke Bronin, Mayor, City of Hartford
Matt Ritter, State Representative, 1st District, Connecticut General Assembly
David Robinson, General Counsel, The Hartford
Tom Dorsey, Manager, Government Affairs, Eversource Energy
Andrea Pereira, Executive Director LISC
Ken Johnson, Executive Director, NINA
Jack Ellovich, President, HCLF Board of Directors
Guests of honor included NINA’s Board of Directors:
Sean Mulready
Chris Hartley
Andrew Daly
Robert Yass
Susan Winkler
Lynn Veilleux
After the speeches, Yvonne Matthews, Chair of the Asylum Hill Neighborhood Association, joined in for the ribbon cutting.
NINA and its partners held a grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony at the Zunner Building today. The ceremony marked the formal conclusion of work on the building, which was NINA's biggest project (5 years, $2.5 million) to date.
The Zunner Building is an important anchor for the Asylum Hill neighborhood, and it also represents a capstone for NINA’s work on Ashley and Garden Streets. NINA started work here 13 years ago, when it moved the Victorian Lady two doors down from the Zunner Building, and NINA also worked on 8 Ashley Street and 221 Garden Street, which both abut the Zunner Building.
We are tremendously grateful to all of our partners on this project!
Major funding for this project was provided by the State of Connecticut through its Housing Tax Credit Contribution Program, its Historic Preservation Tax Credit Program, and its Urban Action Grant Program; the City of Hartford through its Façade Improvement Program and its Anti-Blight Tax Deferral Program; The Hartford, which contributes to NINA directly and also contributed to this project through the State of Connecticut’s Neighborhood Assistance Act program; Eversource Energy, which close to $1 million to this project through the State’s tax credit programs; and LISC, which provided construction financing for this project.
Nothing really noteworthy, but since we showed you this same car filled with paper lanterns, it seemed only fair to the car to show it full of chairs.
Overcast, but still nice views of downtown and Asylum Hill.
