HDC
Hill Development
Corporation of New Haven
649 Howard Avenue
New Haven, CT
06519

Telephone:
(203) 776-3759

Fax:
(203) 643-2070

Email:
hdcofnewhaven@aol.com

Web site:
www.hdcofnewhaven.org

History

HDC’s success is the product of years of partnership, effort and good will among Hill residents, private developers and government agencies. Since its beginnings more than 20 years ago, the corporation has spearheaded numerous projects to improve Hill residents’ quality of life on the Hill, including:

HDC began as the Upper Hill Project Area Committee (UHPAC). Originally intended to help restore the Hill neighborhood to health, UHPAC focused particularly on the area bounded by Spring Street, Legion Avenue, Howard Avenue and Congress Avenue. This section was infamous for its numerous blighted and abandoned properties, which were made the more conspicuous by the debris, garbage, junked automobiles and construction rubble littering the yards, alleyways and neighborhood in general.

Hill Housing, Howard Avenue site.

In response to this problem, the committee partnered with major local institutions, including Yale-New Haven Hospital, Yale Medical School, The Jewish Home for the Aged, and the Hill Health Center. Their goal was to fight urban blight - initially through cleanup efforts, and later through efforts to change the City’s policies on demolition of abandoned properties.

With the help of these organizations, a full-time staff position was created to do much of the committee’s administrative work. More importantly, volunteers, often working full-time hours, continued to move the project forward. No single person or institution was responsible for improving the neighborhood; it was a true group effort. In 1985 the committee merged with an already existing Community Development Corporation (CDC), whose purpose also to improve quality of life in the Hill neighborhood. Eventually the two groups incorporated as the Hill Development Corporation of New Haven (HDC).

HDC was successful in altering the City’s demolition policies ending the unchecked accumulation of debris in streets and lots. However, these are only modest first steps compared to the strides the organization has made since then. HDC has vastly broadened its goals and has expanded its abilities accordingly. HDC’s central mission has always been to improve the quality of life for residents of the Hill neighborhood and to help bring economic development to the neighborhood.

In its fifteen years in the Hill neighborhood, HDC has recognized the need for a comprehensive approach to neighborhood revitalization. This aim is now fully engaged, as evidenced by HDC’s success in encouraging business development, overseeing housing projects, creating employment programs and coordinating efforts by social service providers as well as the local Police Department.

The corporation has succeeded thanks to the steady efforts and building of trust and partnership among residents, developers and government agencies. With further hard work and goodwill, HDC will continue to fulfill it mission to enhance the quality of life in the Hill neighborhood.