On Thursday, there was a groundbreaking ceremony at the site of a former piano factory in Meriden that is being turned into mixed-income housing.
“We always look at this big building and we’re like hey it looks pretty gothy, it's old,” North End Neighborhood Association President Steven Cardillo said.
The former Aeolian Organ and Music Company building located on Tremont Street is being redeveloped by Trinity Financial. The new name of the property will be Tremont Flats at the Piano Factory. The apartment complex will preserve an important part of Meriden’s industrial history. Between 1887 and 1930, the building was bustling with workers creating automated pianos and organs for big names across the country.
“Mark Twain, Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller, among many others,” Trinity Financial Vice President of Development Dan Drazen said. “Our review of historical records indicates that in 1918 the workforce on this property was roughly 500 people. About half of those people were women.”
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On Thursday morning, developers broke ground on the $56 million project. The funds are a mix of state, federal, and private money. After construction is completed in 2025, there will be 82 mixed-income apartments, including 71 affordable and 11 market-rate units. The project aims to help narrow the housing crisis in Meriden and across Connecticut.
“There is always a need for more apartments in Meriden,” Cardillo added.
Neighbors say the piano factory has been an eyesore for decades. They are excited for new life to come into the old building.
“When I heard this was coming around, I said 'wow this is going to be nice, it’s going to spruce the area up,'” Cardillo said.
The city is working to transform the nearby area. Recently the city invested $2 million in the North End Fields. Mayor Kevin Scarpati said there are plans to create a playscape and basketball court near the apartment complex.
“It’s really to help enhance not just this facility here at 85 Tremont, but also play into the playscape and greater neighborhood,” Scarpati said.
