ARTICLE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Mary Brodeur, Digital Content Specialist Miranda Creative, Inc. mbrodeur@mirandacreative.com 860-887-6882 x504 September 11, 2018 The Lofts at Ponemah Mills Celebrates Its Continued Success with Combined Ribbon Cutting & Groundbreaking Ceremony TAFTVILLE, NORWICH, CT – The Lofts at Ponemah Mills is set to hold an official ribbon cutting ceremony on September 21, 2018 at 1 PM, celebrating the completion of the first phase of apartment homes. The ceremony commemorates the opening of 114 residential units, including 60% affordable and 40% market rate. When complete, the entire 7.4-acre campus—consisting of 5 buildings for a total of 650,000sf—will include 314 residential units, a museum, a multi-media event space, community gathering space with a kitchen, a waterfront park, and fitness center. Immediately following the ribbon cutting, the historic mill apartment homes will host a groundbreaking ceremony to launch the second phase of development. A buffet lunch will also accompany presentations from local and statewide dignitaries. Ponemah Mills, formerly the second largest cotton mill in the world, has evolved from its acquisition from Onekey, LLC in 2007. After engagement by the National Development Council (NDC) and support from the Norwich Community Development Corporation (NCDC) to assist with the reprogramming and financial structuring of the project, the development of The Lofts at Ponemah Mills has seen significant progress in its first of three stages. “Projects of this size are complicated under the best of circumstances,” said Kevin Gremse, a Senior Director at NDC. “We worked closely with the community and Onekey to ensure this project is a success. Revitalizing this underutilized historic community asset is in perfect alignment with NDC’s mission as an economic development nonprofit.” NDC and Onekey worked together to prepare a financial plan involving state and federal historic tax credits, affordable housing tax credits, and tax-exempt bonds from the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority. Onekey has invested nearly $10 million to remediate the site and prepare the building for redevelopment. Even though the project is occurring in three phases, this investment had to be completed upfront in order to attract tenants to the building. The combined ceremonial event reflects the The Lofts’ envisioned design, to unite history and modern amenities. Ponemah Mills is situated in the The Last Green Valley, a National Heritage Corridor, and has a rich history as a cotton mill and manufacturing facility. The mill brought manifold employment opportunities over the years, at one time boasting more employees than many of the local towns had in population. The collective effort to develop the mills not only allows for the revitalization of the surrounding historic neighborhood, but provide its residents with attractive, affordable housing. Visit Ponemah Mills on social media: Facebook: facebook.com/ponemahmills Instagram: instagram.com/theloftsatponemahmillsct About Onekey, LLC Onekey, LLC offers Pre-Construction, Construction Management, General Contracting, Trade Work and Design Build Services to meet client’s construction needs on every front. From the initial stages of project planning and development through the construction phase and project delivery, Onekey works in conjunction with clients under a variety of contract types and delivery methods. The Methods utilized include lump sum, Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) and negotiated procurement. For more information about Onekey, LLC, please visit http://www.onekeyllc.com/home.html.