About Corporation for Independent Living
Founded in 1979, the Corporation for Independent Living was established by a coalition of service providers to create small residences in residential neighborhoods for people with disabilities. Many of the residents in the homes we developed had spent their lifetimes in large institutions. We sought to provide choice in housing while addressing accessibility and quality of life needs of individuals.
CIL is a nonprofit housing development corporation. Our products include community housing for people with developmental disabilities, accessible homes for people with physical disabilities, affordable multifamily housing as well as homes for first time home buyers of low income.
CIL offers development services to other nonprofit organizations and our staff is experienced in all facets of housing development. We work with our customers during the planning stages, inspecting and evaluating possible sites. We prepare applications for capital financing and facilitate processing by lenders. We provide full technical assistance as the development consultant throughout all the stages of project development. Our housing developers will assist with the selection of project professionals as well as construction contractors.
We have also undertaken housing development as the general contractor for hundreds of units of single family housing in 110 towns throughout Connecticut.
CIL has demonstrated capacity to secure funding for the many projects that we have developed. We work with local, national and international financial institutions to accomplish our housing development objectives. Examples of financial arrangements we have used include tax exempt bond issues through the Connecticut Development Authority as well as the Massachusetts Health and Educational Facilities Authority; lines of credit and conventional mortgages from local banks; federal financing programs like HUD 202/811; and low income housing tax credit program financing. In 28 years we have developed more than 1500 homes of all types and served over 5,000 people.
Recently CIL has expanded its activities into the market rate housing arena through the creation of a for-profit subsidiary. This expansion is necessary to adequately fund our mission-related activities because of the reduced availability of state and federal dollars that were used in the past.
CIL is an equal opportunity employer and a fair housing developer.
The History
-of-
The Corporation For Independent Living.
1979 Year
of incorporation. Office located at 179 Allyn Street,
Room 312.
Founding nonprofit organizations:
Connecticut Association for Retarded Citizens, Easter Seals
Society of Connecticut, Connecticut Coordinating
Committee of the Handicapped, Connecticut
State Society for Autistic Children, Oak Hill School for the
Blind, United Cerebral Palsy Association of Connecticut.
Martin Legault was hired September 10, 1979 as the Executive
Director.
1980 CIL
offices relocate to 630 Oakwood Avenue, West
1981 CIL develops the Dorothy Street Project for the Greater Hartford Housing Consortium. Work on the HUD 202 projects continues.
1982 CIL is funded by the Office of Human Development Services of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services for its De-institutionalization Project.
1983 Syndication general partner, CIL Realty Associates, is formed. Various group home projects are finance through limited partnerships.
1984 Loans for Accessibility program is proposed to, and funded by, the State Department of Housing.
1985 Total of 140 housing units developed for 528 persons in homes and apartments. CIL mission includes development of affordable housing.
1986 CIL offices relocate to 30 Jordan Lane, Wethersfield. Exploration of tax-exempt financing begins.
1987 Realty partnerships refinanced with tax-exempt bonds. ($52,000,000 1987 Series Bonds)
1988 New housing development financed with tax-exempt bonds. ($24,500,000 1988 Series Bonds).
1989 State of Illinois hires CIL as consultant to provide options for community housing in Illinois.
1990 Two bond issues refinanced ($110,000,000); working capital loan fund for provider agencies.
1991 CIL community housing extends to 104 of Connecticut's 169 towns and municipalities.
1992
CIL begins operations in
1993 CIL develops last homes required in order to close down Mansfield Training School. CIL develops multifamily housing project financed with Low Income Housing Tax Credits. CIL issues additional tax-exempt bonds for community housing in Connecticut ($17,300,000) and Massachusetts
1994 CIL increases its assistance to other nonprofit housing development corporations, including bail-out completion of stagnated projects started by others. CIL publishes its web site: www.cilhomes.org.
1995 CIL develops community housing in Southeastern Massachusetts.
1996 Construction begins on first joint venture multifamily housing development in Hartford.
1997 First-time homebuyer program begins.
1998 Home modification program for older homeowners begins.
1999 CIL becomes fiduciary and development partner for the Mortson/Putnam Heights neighborhood rebuilding project.
2000 CIL wins “Best Practices” award given by the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Annual revenue reaches $10,000,000 mark.
2001 The CIL Construction Services department completed the 25th home for sale to first-time homebuyers.
2002
CIL
secures a parcel of land in
2003 CIL establishes a clearinghouse to foster collaboration between business firms and nonprofit housing developers.
2004 CIL creates CIL Development, Inc. as a for-profit subsidiary for the purpose of developing market rate housing. The proceeds from this activity support CIL's nonprofit mission.
2005 CIL receives funding from the Hartford Foundation to launch AccesSolutions, a program that provides temporary ramps and other accessibility modifications to financially eligible people with disabilities.
2006 Construction begins on First Town Square, a fifty unit factory conversion in Windsor, CT.
2007 CIL completes work on Stetson Place.
