Press Releases
07/10/2024
Governor Lamont Announces the Municipal Redevelopment Authority To Hold Inaugural Meeting on Thursday
(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont today announced that the board of directors of the Connecticut Municipal Redevelopment Authority (MRDA) will hold its inaugural meeting on Thursday, July 11, 2024, at 11:00 a.m. in the Old Appropriations Room of the State Capitol in Hartford.
MRDA is a quasi-public state agency established through legislation approved by the Connecticut General Assembly and signed by Governor Lamont. As defined under state statutes, it is responsible for assisting municipalities with efforts to spur transit-oriented development, particularly focusing on the growth of new housing. This assistance can include helping municipalities with the development of housing growth zones that can significantly increase housing production. Municipalities must opt in to participate in the authority.
“The availability of housing is directly connected to a healthy economy because businesses want to expand and add jobs in locations where they have access to a quality workforce, and workers want to live where they have access to jobs and transportation,” Governor Lamont said. “The Municipal Redevelopment Authority will be taking a holistic approach to partnering with Connecticut’s municipalities to spur the development of new housing that is easily accessible to transportation options and meets the needs that businesses are seeking.”
MRDA is overseen by a board of directors consisting of 16 members, nine of whom are appointees of bipartisan legislative leaders and the governor, and the remaining seven are ex-officio members as designated by statutes. All the members serve as volunteers and do not receive compensation for their service on the board.
The governor is required by statutes to select one of the board’s members to serve as its chairperson. He has chosen Felix Reyes, the director of economic development and planning for the City of New London, to fill this leadership role.
The membership of the MRDA Board of Directors currently includes:
- Chairperson: Felix Reyes – Director of Economic Development and Planning, City of New London (Appointed by Governor Lamont)
- Karen DuBois-Walton – President, Elm City Communities/Housing Authority of New Haven (Appointed by Governor Lamont)
- Alexandra Daum – Yale New Haven Affairs and University Properties, Yale University (Appointed by Governor Lamont)
- Sara Amato – Business owner and operator (Appointed by Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney)
- Jessica Vonashek – Chief of Economic and Community Development, City of Norwalk (Appointed by Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff)
- TBA (Appointed by Senate Minority Leader Stephen Harding)
- Kiley Gosselin – Executive Director, Housing Development Fund (Appointed by Speaker of the House Matt Ritter)
- Gary Anderson – Director of Planning and Economic Development, Town of Manchester (Appointed by House Majority Leader Jason Rojas)
- Laura Francis – Interim Executive Director, South Central Regional Council of Governments (Appointed by House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora)
- Commissioner of the Department of Housing or designee (ex-officio member)
- Commissioner of the Department of Economic and Community Development or designee (ex-officio member)
- Commissioner of the Department of Transportation or designee (ex-officio member)
- Commissioner of the Department of Labor or designee (ex-officio member)
- Commissioner of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection or designee (ex-officio member)
- Commissioner of the Department of Public Health or designee (ex-officio member)
- Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management or designee (ex-officio member)
During the inaugural meeting, the board’s members will appoint an executive committee, appoint an executive director, and adopt a regular meeting schedule for the upcoming year.
**Download: Agenda for the inaugural meeting of the MRDA Board of Directors
- Twitter: @GovNedLamont
- Facebook: Office of Governor Ned Lamont