NORWICH – More than 10 years after the project began, the Norwich Housing Authority is hoping to see the construction of the first unit of the Brown Avenue housing project this spring.

In 1999, the Norwich Housing Authority acquired the property where the Brown Ave. Bowling Alley and a bakery formerly sat and began to discuss options for its future use. The original plans called for the construction of six energy-efficient duplex structures for senior citizens.

On Tuesday night, Norwich Housing Authority Executive Director Judy Wingate-Wade attended the City Finance / Personnel Committee meeting to ask for a bridge loan to help move the project forward.

Wingate-Wade explained the housing authority has already received construction loan financing and has a contractor in place to begin the project; however, to get the project started, the housing authority needs a bridge loan for $90,000.

“We did secure a construction loan – that took longer than we thought – but it does not cover 100 percent of the project. We had a gap in funding that we had to provide,” Wingate-Wade explained in a telephone interview following the meeting.