Image courtesy of KayBar Development Corp. and EmpireCore Group

A Waterbury housing development aimed at healthcare workers has secured the financing it needs to get underway, thanks to a major infusion of state dollars.

The $15 million Cole Street Commons project would redevelop a vacant, former Catholic school next to Waterbury’s Saint Mary’s Hospital into 47 apartments for middle-income healthcare workers.The project is a mix of adaptive reuse and new construction.

The Connecticut Department of Housing is contributing $11.6 million in funding for the project, Commissioner Seila Mosquera-Bruno announced at a press conference Tuesday. Around half money is coming from a state fund to finance more housing for healthcare workers, plus $4.6 million in other state housing funds and a $1.5 million loan. Ives Bank is also chipping in $2.2 million.

The city-owned property was transferred to prominent local developer KayBar Development Corp. in 2025 after a selection process. The city had bought the school from a local church in 2023 after the school’s closure.

State officials, at the urging of Connecticut’s hospital industry, have been looking for ways to expand the healthcare workforce, including by building more housing for them.