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Old school rises again as The Lofts CONNECTICUT POST September 14, 2007 JOHN BURGESON BRIDGEPORT — Jefferson School, where South End children were taught for more than a century, is getting a new lease on life — as condominiums. Mayor John M. Fabrizi and a score of other officials were on hand today for a symbolic ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Myrtle Avenue school being converted into a dozen one- and two-bedroom condominiums by developer Garfield Spencer. The Lofts: Jefferson School will offer units of between 950 and 1,200 square feet, selling for between $185,000 and $280,000, according sales manager Jenny Bogan. Other features will include an elevator, wheelchair access, a sprinkler system, tax and financing incentives, and off-street parking where the school's playground used to be. " I feel so proud when people come from places like Westport to see what we have right here in Bridgeport, Conn.," said Fabrizi. " There are a lot of people we'd like to thank, but especially we'd like to thank Garfield and Rebecca Spencer for taking blighted, abandoned, crime-infested and rodent-infested properties and turning them into places like this — an aesthetic beauty and historic beauty." " We try to add a kind of funkiness to what we build because that's what attracts people from places like Westport," said Garfield Spencer about the interior designs of the units. " They're not looking for your standard, cookie-cutter construction." A young couple from Westport was there to check on the progress of the unit that will soon become their home. " What I like about this place is this bridge," said Margo Schwartz, in reference to the catwalk connecting the two lofts of her future condo. She works for the Mill River Group, a private security outfit in Fairfield, and her husband, Vincent Litz, works for North East Shoring, a supplier of trench boxes and road plates, based in Boston. Bogen said that about half of the units are already spoken for, and they'll be ready in " late winter or early spring." Jefferson School was constructed in two parts. The older section to the rear was opened in 1884; the " new" part opened in 1916. The school was closed in 1975, and purchased in 1983 for $95,000 by a group of lawyers for conversion into law offices, but that plan never materialized. Today, about a dozen construction workers were working on renovating the structure. It looked as though much remains to be done, such as the installation of flooring (some original maple flooring will be used), wallboard, plumbing fixtures, insulation and so forth. However, new windows have been installed, interior walls have been framed in and the elevator is in place. The Spencers are known locally for their development firm's conversion of the former Warnaco factory in the South End into the Lofts at Lafayette. Future Spencer projects in the city include a recently announced plan to convert the vacant office building at 333 State St. into a mixed-use structure with offices, penthouse condominiums and an unusual automated parking garage. Another proposal of theirs would convert an abandoned factory building at the corner of Cherry Street and Hancock Avenue into loft-style apartments. Both of these projects will require zoning changes, in the form of special land development agreements, in order to allow residential units to be built there. At today's ceremony, Spencer praised Fabrizi for his skill at cutting red tape. Babette Arroyo of Citibank said that buyers of the Jefferson condos will be able to take advantage of a $3,000 closing cost grants and 5.75 percent mortgage financing, with an even lower rate for city teachers and police officers. (c) 2007 The Connecticut Post. All rights reserved. |
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© 2006 First National Development. All Rights Reserved. |  |