Mission Related Investments

Since 1990, the Melville Charitable Trust has focused it funding on supporting efforts to find and fight the causes of homelessness through the development of affordable and supportive housing and the creation of vibrant healthy communities. Over the past four years the Trust has funded several Mission Related Investments (MRIs) in the Frog Hollow neighborhood of Hartford, a community that has suffered from poverty, lack of opportunity and disinvestment. Under the direction of the Board and staff of the Trust, staff in Hartford have embarked on a broad effort to improve neighborhood infrastructure and create opportunities for residents. Through real estate investments, new construction and program development, the work is beginning to have a strong impact on the surrounding community.

 

Billings Forge Community Works (BFCW) is a nonprofit responsible for the development and management of the Trust’s Mission Related Investments in Frog Hollow. Currently, the projects are centered at the Billings Forge complex. Starting in 1873, the Billings and Spencer Company produced drop-forged tools here for three-quarters of a century.  The Forge was converted to apartments in the 1970s, and is now home to 98 households, the Center for Community at Billings Forge, and Firebox restaurant.

 

The work of Billings Forge Community Works is designed to replace disinvestment with investment in Frog Hollow, create a shared sense of mission, offer education and training, and underscore the idea that a good place to live is more than just four walls and a roof. Specific goals of BFCW include:

 

  • Fight homelessness by improving housing opportunities for families and individuals in the Frog Hollow community

  • Encourage economic growth through business and enterprise development in the neighborhood around Billings Forge

  • Create job training, educational advancement and work opportunities for Frog Hollow residents

  • Strengthen family health and vitality through education, counsel and access to services

  • Encourage self help, civic engagement and participation in every level of the community

  • Support a climate that values diversity, rewards independence, nourishes creativity and brings people together.

Billings Forge Community Works Programs & Projects

 

The current activities and programs of BFCW represent a set of diverse, but targeted strategies aimed at impacting a wide array of people both within the community and outside of it. 

 

The Center for Community at Billings Forge: through linkage with community partners, the Center provides programs for all ages that encourage and support healthy growth, sustained skills development and professional advancement, creating pathways toward enhanced quality of living and economic and social independence. 

 

 

Firebox Restaurant: serving lunch and dinner, this 125 seat restaurant is fully licensed; it provides jobs for local residents and is designed to draw visitors to Frog Hollow.  In addition to an executive chef and general manager, the restaurant employs 18 full-time staff and 14 part-time workers. Currently, four are residents of the Billings Forge complex and seven are from the Frog Hollow neighborhood.

 

 

The Farmers Market at Billings Forge: a seasonal weekly farmers market (April through October) which brings local and healthy produce to community residents and creates a meeting space for the community and the surrounding workers from the State Capitol, insurance companies, and offices. 

 

 

The Residences at Billings Forge: a 98 unit affordable housing complex that is in the process of incremental renovation and improvement. 

 

It seems clear that, with the support of the Trust and other community partners, BFCW will not only succeed in enhancing the lives and prospects of Billings Forge residents, but also in learning lessons about helping a community develop in the fullest sense – lessons that can be translated for use in other locales and circumstances.