History

For the past 20 years Charter Oak Communities, formerly known as the Stamford Housing Authority, has helped strengthen Stamford’s neighborhoods by replacing old models of public housing with new communities embraced by residents and the city.

Vidal Court was an obsolete, moderate-income complex that stood for sixty years on Stamford’s West Side. Through visionary leadership and fruitful opportunities, Charter Oak Communities (COC) has made great efforts to revitalize it.

COC had long sought to replace Vidal Court with an array of low density, mixed-income communities to provide a better quality of life for residents, fit comfortably into existing street patterns and complement the architecture of traditional neighborhoods.

COC’s commitment to its residents and to Stamford included a complete replacement of Vidal Court’s 216 below-market units interspersed with 134 new market-rate units. The replacement of Vidal Court apartments has been distributed over these nearby locations: Westwood (2011); Palmer Square (2012); Greenfield (2015); and Park 215 (2018).

COC successfully converted the former Fairfield Court low-income housing complex into a new community called Fairgate, featuring beautiful, mixed-income townhomes financed with a blend of public subsidies and market-rate approaches. These new one- two- and three-bedroom residences offer many attractive amenities, varying by location, including community centers, computer labs, after-school programs, private entrances, playgrounds and more.

Charter Oak Communities is a responsible developer and our communities employ people and energy efficiencies.

Energy efficiencies include Energy Star construction, state of the art appliances and heating/cooling systems, water saving features, high efficiency lighting and low-VOC building products. 

Our development efforts have created hundreds of construction and permanent jobs, investments in sustainable technology and much-needed housing. COC is stimulating private, collateral investment and boosting ongoing efforts to revitalize the City’s West Side, which benefits the entire community.

Charter Oak Communities has set new benchmarks in urban living.

COC provides on-site resident services through its partnership with Family Centers, Inc. that help residents manage financial, personal and educational challenges, and better prepare them for self-sufficiency and promote quality of life. We create housing that is an asset to the Stamford community and strengthens the integrity of neighborhoods. COC is making Stamford a national leader in providing innovative, attractive, sustainable and affordable housing.