Building Better Cities

Episode 48 | The Construction Lending Podcast

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This conversation with David Kooris, Executive Director of the Connecticut Municipal Development Authority (CMDA) explores the innovative “carrot-based” model that is currently supporting 43 member communities. Learn how the CMDA acts as an honest broker between developers and municipalities, ensuring that projects align with both local visions and state economic goals.

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Questions Answered

• How does the CMDA fill the capacity gap for small municipal governments?
• Why is infill and brownfield development more complex than building on greenfields?
• What are common zoning “flaws” that prevent mixed-use development?
• How can AI and rapid visualization help constituents understand policy changes?

Rethinking Construction Lending, Urban Planning, and the Power of Collaboration

Urban redevelopment in America is a complex dance of vision, regulation, finance, and community values. Too often, a fundamentally good idea—a development that promises more housing, more walkability, or a vibrant main street—gets stuck somewhere between municipal intention and implementation. In this episode, David Kooris, Executive Director of the Connecticut Municipal Development Authority (CMDA), explores how innovation in organizational structure and inter-sector collaboration is breaking down these historic barriers to transform how redevelopment happens in the state.

The Connecticut Context: Unique Challenges, Universal Lessons

Connecticut serves as a fascinating case study for American redevelopment because it possesses 169 municipalities, no county governments, and no unincorporated land. Kooris explains that the state’s towns and cities have wildly varying levels of capacity; while some cities boast robust development offices, many others operate with minimal staff despite having big ambitions.

What makes Connecticut’s challenge striking is how it reflects national trends. As the push for “infill” and transit-oriented development (TOD) intensifies, the obstacles become clear: developers face hurdles not just from interest rates, but also from complex permitting across environmental, historic, and transportation domains. Kooris surfaces that the core challenge is the need for coordinated, creative support to bring local visions to fruition.

What Is the Connecticut Municipal Development Authority?

The CMDA, launched about a year and a half ago, is a “quasi-public” agency that functions outside of the typical state bureaucracy. Kooris describes its structure as intentionally hybrid:

• It was created by legislation and utilizes state seed funding.
• It is governed by a board featuring both public and private sector representation.
• It operates nimbly to tailor responses to the greatest needs of towns and cities.
• It utilizes an “opt-in” model where municipalities must voluntarily invite the authority to work with them.

This position allows the CMDA to serve as a mediator that supports resource-strapped towns without circumventing local autonomy. The goal is to provide the customized expertise, financing, and strategy needed to jumpstart redevelopment in downtowns and around train stations.

Bridging the Public-Private Divide: How the CMDA Works

A core strength of the CMDA is its ability to align public-sector planning with private-sector investment. Because building on “gray fields” or brownfields within existing neighborhoods is significantly harder than developing greenfields, the CMDA operates at the crux of several challenges:

1. Financing and Filling the Gap: Many developers face daunting gaps because high construction costs and interest rates often exceed the available debt and equity. The CMDA utilizes a $90 million allocation to provide low-interest mezzanine debt and infrastructure grants.
2. Cutting Through Red Tape: Navigating conflicting regulatory regimes—such as environmental protection versus historic preservation—can be exhausting. The CMDA acts as a guide to help “break down the silos” so visionary projects do not stall.
3. Fixing Policy Inefficiencies: The authority provides external zoning reviews to identify “poison pills” or outdated regulations. For example, Kooris notes that well-intentioned rules requiring 51% commercial space in a mixed-use building often make a project mathematically impossible.

Collaboration Instead of Mandates: The Power of Voluntary Partnership

The CMDA’s model is built on invitation rather than top-down mandates. Kooris underscores that towns and cities must “raise their hand” to collaborate. Of the roughly 100 eligible municipalities with transit stations or walkable downtowns, 43 have already joined.

This partnership-based approach is essential for building trust. Kooris notes that while the “frozen carrot” of funding provides an incentive, towns ultimately retain the purview to adopt or reject recommendations. By acting as an honest broker, the CMDA ensures it is not viewed merely as an agent for developers or an enforcer for the state.

The Sweet Spot: What Success Looks Like

Early results are encouraging, with the CMDA recently awarding its first loan to a 156-unit, mixed-income, transit-oriented development. Kooris reflects that success often involves helping a city realize that its dream project may require more stories to be economically viable or that public infrastructure investment must come before private shovels hit the ground. This flexibility allows the CMDA to act as a planner, dealmaker, or contracted development office as needed.

National Implications and Future Trends

While Kooris shares that the authority is currently focused on learning from similar efforts in other states, he believes the CMDA is pioneering a unique national model. Looking ahead, the authority is exploring how technology can help communities imagine change. Kooris highlights that AI-generated visualizations can help constituents see the results of policy ideas in real-time, addressing the common difficulty people have with visualizing a transformed environment.

Ultimately, the CMDA demonstrates that the redevelopment authorities of the 21st century will be less about red tape and more about orchestration: acting as conveners and strategic investors who eliminate friction for good ideas

Social Links

David’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidkooris/ 

CMDA Website: https://www.wearecmda.com/