Over the last few years, the North Hartford Partnership has transformed the abandoned Swift Factory into growing community resource.
They will soon include more daycare and job training in hopes of helping as many as 950 so-called disconnected working-age adults find new career paths.
It's all part of a $5 million expansion, a project that got a $900,000 Community Investment Fund grant.
“This is great investment in this community,” said Sen. Douglas McCrory (D-East Hartford).
Get top local stories in Connecticut delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC Connecticut's News Headlines newsletter.
The Swift Factory once made gold leafs but the company left in 2005. A few years ago, the North Hartford Partnership took over the space and converted it to an adaptive reuse facility.
That includes space and support for nine restaurants.
“It has a wonderful space with a lot of amenities,” said Chrisann Miller, who runs her Ital Juicery Company out of the Love Lane building.
Local
The building is also home to Hartford Proud’s Drill, Drum and Dance Corp, which Terry Starks stated to help keep kids out of trouble.
“We have enough challenges so invest in something the kids enjoy doing,” Starks said.
Other services include a nontraditional school, as well as office and commercial space.
Soon the Swift Factory will also have what being called a Workforce and Youth Hub.
“The hub will serve as a space where people can go, people who live here in the community, for opportunities,” North Hartford Partnership Executive Director Brenda Watson said.
The hub will offer job training for adults in Hartford's North End who are out of work or feel underemployed, putting them at risk of becoming disconnected from the labor force.
“There are great jobs out there that people don’t know about that pay $20, $30 an hour,” McCrory said.
The North Hartford Partnership also plans to launch a Energy Justice and Climate Resilience Hub that will help educate residents about renewable energy and disaster preparedness.
“What we want the news to say after a disastrous event is that the people in this community were prepared for it and we minimized harm,” Watson said.
The expansion project will begin this month and is expected to be completed before the end of next year.
