After a long and sometimes heated fight at town hall, the apartments at 240 Deming St. in South Windsor are finally coming out of the ground. Construction is underway on a 55-unit development on the former Calvary Church property, Patch reported this month.
The plan calls for 55 one- and two-bedroom apartments spread across five two-story buildings on 240 Deming St. and part of 440 Buckland Road, with community and outdoor space. Thirteen of the apartments are meant for people with intellectual disabilities, who will get supportive services through MARC Inc. of Manchester.
"The most exciting part about 240 Deming Street is all the partners coming together to make sure that our individuals have opportunities," MARC President and CEO Kevin Zingler said in a video shared by the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority.
Who's paying and who's building
The developer is Farmington-based Metro Realty, and the property sold to 240 Deming Street LLC for $1.55 million in May 2025. The money behind construction is a typical Connecticut affordable housing stack:
- $5.5 million from the state Department of Housing
- Low-income housing tax credits through CHFA, expected to bring in $11.8 million in private investment
- $4.73 million in CHFA permanent financing
- $1 million from CHFA's Opportunity Fund
For folks who don't live in the tax credit world: the credits are sold to investors, and that money becomes equity in the project, so the developer borrows less. The trade-off is long-term rent limits and a lot of compliance paperwork, and some of it reaches the jobsite.
The CHFA financing documents lock in affordability for 50 years. Eleven apartments are for households earning no more than 30% of the area median income, 22 for those at or below 50%, and 11 for those at or below 80%.
The builder is The Metro Construction Corporation, which shares Metro Realty's Farmington office. Back in January, Metro Construction ran an invitation to bid looking for subcontractors, suppliers and service providers for the job. It spelled out what it wanted: at least ten years of trade experience, past work as a sub on projects of 50 units or more, references from building owners and supply houses, and proper workers' comp and general liability insurance. The company also said it has to show good-faith efforts toward a 25% set-aside goal for small businesses and 6.25% for minority-, women- and disadvantaged-owned businesses.
That bid call ran months ago, so many trade packages may already be spoken for. But that list is a good snapshot of what it takes to get on a state-funded multifamily job in Connecticut.
How it got here
This project didn't come easy. Metro Realty first proposed 72 apartments in seven buildings. After neighbors raised concerns about traffic, school enrollment, density and the loss of mature trees, the developer cut it to 55 units in five buildings. More than 100 people showed up to a July 2023 zoning hearing. The Planning and Zoning Commission approved the zone change 4-3 in September 2023 and the final site plan by the same margin that December.
Supporters argued the project would offer housing that's hard to find for adults with intellectual disabilities. Opponent Margaret Tanner Glover warned commissioners about the trees and wildlife. "You guys need to look at what you're going to destroy," she said, as CT Insider reported at the time. On the other side, Rebecca Shinkoff, whose daughter has an intellectual disability, said projects like this help people live more independently. "Inclusion is a universal human right," she said, according to the same report. No completion or move-in date has been announced yet.
Why it matters for Contractors
The South Windsor job is a good lesson in how much of Connecticut's new housing is getting built: small-to-mid-size garden apartments, a mix of affordable and supportive units, and a financing stack of state grants, tax credits and CHFA loans. Projects like this often come with set-aside goals and qualification requirements for subs, so keeping your paperwork in order matters: insurance certificates, references, any SBE or MBE/WBE certification, and proof that you've done jobs of this size before. If you're not certified yet and you qualify, it may be worth looking into. And for builders, the long road from 72 units to 55 is a reminder that the approval fight can take longer than the construction.