Cramer & Anderson Partner Kim Nolan handled the complex commercial loan closing for the new Early Childhood Education Center for children ages 3 and 4 opened by Connecticut Institute For Communities, Inc. (CIFC) at 29 Park Ave. in Danbury.
“Kim literally worked day and night and weekends to get this accomplished,” said Cramer & Anderson Partner Ted Backer, who handled initial work on the project, referring to the intricacies and timeframe necessary for the transaction.
“I very much appreciate both Attorney Backer’s and Attorney Nolan’s work on this project,” said James H. Maloney, J.D., the former Congressman who is now President & Chief Executive Officer of CIFC. “It was a complicated transaction because it involved both the physical reconstruction of an old retail facility to become a modern preschool, as well as a complex combination of multiple funding sources. It also involved not only CIFC as the ultimate licensee and operator of the childhood education center, but another nonprofit, Connecticut Community Facilities Development Corp., as the owner and developer of the property.”
“Cramer & Anderson represented both nonprofits in working with Newtown Savings Bank,” Maloney explained. “We had capital funding through the state for the project, we had local private funding, and we had commercial financing from Newtown Savings Bank.”
“One of the great things Ted and Kim did was live within the very tight timeframes we had to operate under. We had to meet strict timelines to get the federal operating grants for the service program implemented, and the timeframe was basically eight months, so we had to get the financing in place and rehabilitate the building in that short space of time. We could not have done that had it not been for the true expertise and dedication of Kim and Ted .”
Maloney also publicly thanked Attorneys Nolan and Backer at an open house held at the new center Jan. 6, whose guests included Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton. Also attending the open house from Newtown Savings Bank were Vinny DiGilio, Vice President/Commercial Loan Officer, Mary Jascha, First Vice President/Senior Commercial Lending Officer, and Bank President and CEO Kenneth Weinstein.
Attorney Nolan worked with DiGilio and the bank’s legal counsel throughout the loan closing process.
The new center is part of Head Start of Northern Fairfield County (HSNFC), which is sponsored by CIFC, according to a CIFC news release. HSNFC now has four centers in Danbury, including the Danbury Head Start Center on Foster Street, and the Laurel Gardens and WIC Centers, both on Main Street.
The centers annually serve more than 450 children, ages 6 weeks to 5 years-old, the news release said.
“Since 2004, CIFC has provided Head Start services to the Danbury region, adding more classrooms as the demand warranted and resources allowed,” Maloney said in the release. “We are thrilled to be able to continue to respond to that community need with the opening of our new Early Childhood Education Center.”
The Park Avenue center, which opened in late December, has seven preschool classrooms and amenities that include an indoor multi-purpose room / “mini-gym”, a kitchen, and a modern outdoor playground.
“Head Start is a critical service in any community,” Nicole Taxiltaridis, MPA, CIFC’s Director of Early Learning Programs, said in the release. “I am gratified that we are expanding our footprint in Danbury so more children and families will be able to access the comprehensive offerings that Early Head Start and Head Start provide.”
“It’s really transformational for the community to have this. There wasn’t sufficient Head Start classroom space available in the City of Danbury,” added Attorney Backer, who has long worked with Maloney and practiced law with the former Congressman in the past.
Work on the site started in late spring 2019 and took about eight months to complete. Site acquisition was made possible in cooperation with the State of Connecticut, the release said.
About CIFC
Connecticut Institute For Communities, Inc. (CIFC) is a locally based independent, non-profit, IRS recognized Section 501(C) (3) Community Development Corporation (CDC), whose mission is “dedicated to advancing our communities, and fostering greater opportunities for low and moderate income individuals and families of our service areas, through a combination of health and education programs, and housing and economic development projects”. It is the only such organization in Western Connecticut. More information about CIFC is available at www.ct-institute.org.
About Attorney Nolan
Attorney’s Kim Nolan’s Practice Areas include Municipal Law, Personal Injury Law, and Residential & Commercial Real Estate Law. A graduate of Norwich University in Vermont and Vermont Law School, and a U.S. Army veteran, Attorney Nolan focuses on representing buyers, sellers, borrowers and lending institutions in residential and commercial real estate transactions, as well as representing individuals who have been injured and personal injury defense. He handles commercial litigation and municipal litigation, with an emphasis on municipal tax appeals and zoning issues, as well as advising and representing municipal housing authorities and private landlords and property managers on landlord-tenant issues and in commercial and residential evictions.
Attorney Nolan may be reached by phone at (203) 744-1234 and by email at knolan@crameranderson.com.
About Attorney Backer
Attorney Backer’s Practice Areas include Land Use & Environmental Law, Municipal Law, Planning & Zoning Land Use, and Residential & Commercial Real Estate Law. He has extensive experience and expertise in environmental and utility law, commercial real estate matters, banking, administrative law, municipal planning and zoning, and general corporate and contractual matters. Attorney Backer has long experience in working with key state regulatory agencies, including Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), Department of Health, and Department of Transportation. He earned both his undergraduate and his law degrees from George Washington University.
Attorney Backer may be reached by phone at (203) 744-1234 and by email at tbacker@crameranderson.com.
About Cramer & Anderson
Cramer & Anderson LLP serves clients from six offices in western Connecticut with a hometown sensibility and a worldly outlook in Practice Areas extending from Personal Injury and Divorce & Family Law to Immigration, Municipal Law, Land Use Law, Real Estate, Workers’ Comp and more.
The flagship office is located in a historic structure on the Green in New Milford. Additional offices are located in Danbury, Litchfield, Kent, and Washington Depot, and Ridgefield, serving Fairfield County. For more information, see the website at www.crameranderson.com or call the New Milford office at (860) 355-2631.
