HUD Choice Neighborhood: Connecticut’s Oldest Public Housing Complex Makes Way for Connecticut’s First LEED Certified Mixed-Income Neighborhood
By Michelle Margolies, Project Manager
In 2023, with New Ecology as the development’s LEED consultant, Soundview Landing (formerly known as Washington Village) in Norwalk, CT achieved LEED Neighborhood Development certification, becoming the first mixed-income neighborhood in Connecticut to receive a LEED certification.
Washington Village was originally built in 1941, and was already in need of extensive updates and repairs before experiencing flood damage in 2011-2012 during Hurricane Irene and Superstorm Sandy. With over a foot of water seeping into the first-floor units, this public housing development’s best option for modernization and flood mitigation was to demolish the existing structures and construct a new community elevated above the floodplain.
Residents and members of the surrounding communities were actively involved in the planning process for the new housing development. Residents participated in a design preference survey to inform final plans, and voted to rename the development Soundview Landing, after the city’s maritime history. Throughout the demolition and construction phases, current residents of the development were carefully relocated and always ensured that they had a home both during and after construction.
The new development combined the existing Washington Village property with two adjacent vacant lots to include 136 replacement public housing units, 67 workforce housing units, and 70 market rate homes.
Affirming the efficiency and sustainability considerations that went into this project, two of the new buildings are LEED for Homes Midrise certified, and all five buildings are Energy Star and Enterprise Green Communities certified. The measures required for these certifications ensure improved indoor air quality and comfort for residents, through air sealing, healthy materials, and proper insulation.
Other sustainable features include water efficient fixtures designed to use 39% less water than a baseline building, Energy Star appliances, and LED lighting. The buildings are projected to emit 20-35% less carbon than energy-code baseline buildings.
Soundview Landing prioritizes flood resilience by locating all residential units and mechanical equipment at or above the second floor and by providing a path of egress from the second floor to a pedestrian path in the park that is raised above the 100-year flood level. All buildings sit above the 500-year flood plain.
The project received a highly competitive $30 million Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Choice Neighborhood Grant, which focuses on Housing, People, and Neighborhood: replacing distressed public housing with mixed-income housing; improving income, health, and children’s education outcomes of households; and creating conditions necessary for reinvestment in neighborhoods to offer safety, good schools, and commercial activity—important to families’ choices about their community. Soundview Landing was completed in 2021, and these attributes shine through in the new development’s walkability, bicycle network and storage, proximity to jobs, reduced parking footprint, a connected street network and access to transit facilities, civic and public spaces, and recreation facilities.
