Connecticut Community Outreach Revitalization Program

What Connecticut Community Outreach Revitalization Program does

Connecticut Community Outreach Revitalization Program (ConnCORP) is a private, non-profit community development organization established in 2021 as the development-focused affiliate of the Connecticut Center for Arts and Technology (ConnCAT). Headquartered at 496 Newhall Street in Hamden, Connecticut, ConnCORP operates as a place-based economic development platform targeting underserved New Haven neighborhoods — primarily Dixwell and Newhallville — through acquisition and revitalization of commercial and residential properties, equity and partnership investments in minority-owned local businesses, and grant-funded community programming. Its flagship initiative, First Haven in Dixwell, centers on a $163 million mixed-use redevelopment of the historic Dixwell Plaza into ConnCAT Place, which will include mixed-income housing, a childcare center, a children's mental health center, a grocery store, a food hall, a 350-seat theater, and a public plaza. ConnCORP runs The Lab at ConnCORP, a business incubator and accelerator launched in April 2021 that supports Black-owned and minority-led businesses with mentorship, financial training, leadership development, and affordable office space, alongside a 46,000 sq. ft. headquarters facility of which 20,000 sq. ft. is dedicated to the program.

The organization's business model is grant- and philanthropic-driven rather than transactional. Revenue streams include real estate development and leasing income, equity investments in community-based businesses, and grant funding from sources such as the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the M&T Charitable Foundation. ConnCORP is governed by a Board chaired by Carlton Highsmith and led by Founder/CEO Erik Clemons, President Philip Rigueur, COO Paul McCraven, CIO Anna Blanding, and CFO Gideon Gebreyesus. Its go-to-market motion is community-led: it relies on direct grassroots engagement, neighborhood meetings, strategic partnerships with entities including The WorkPlace, Friends Center for Children, and Cornell Scott Hill Health, and earned media coverage in regional outlets such as Fox61, NBC Connecticut, New Haven Independent, and Connecticut Public, as well as national recognition from ForbesBLK. There is no underlying proprietary technology platform; the organization's "product surface" is a portfolio of physical assets, programs, and sub-brands (ConnCORP Housing, Orchid Gallery, Orchid Cafe, ConnCAT Catering, ConnCORP Journal, and the Entrepreneurship Academy) that together form an integrated workforce-development-plus-real-estate ecosystem serving New Haven's historically marginalized communities.

Name

Connecticut Community Outreach Revitalization Program

Legal name

Connecticut Community Outreach Revitalization Program

Website

https://conncorp.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

ConnCORP is a non-profit community development organization in Hamden, Connecticut that revitalizes underserved New Haven neighborhoods through real estate development, a Black-owned business incubator, and the $163 million ConnCAT Place mixed-use redevelopment at Dixwell Plaza.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Hamden

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Real Estate Development and Revitalization: ConnCORP acquires and revitalizes commercial properties in New Haven's underserved neighborhoods, generating revenue through property development, leasing, and investment returns.
2. Investment in Minority-Owned Businesses: The organization invests in new and existing local community-based businesses, providing capital and support in exchange for equity or partnership arrangements.
3. Grant Funding: ConnCORP receives grant funding from organizations such as the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to support development initiatives and infrastructure projects.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

ConnCORP is a nonprofit community development organization that acquires and revitalizes commercial and residential properties in New Haven's underserved neighborhoods while investing in local community-based and minority-owned businesses. It operates business incubation, mentorship, financial training, and affordable office space programs through The Lab at ConnCORP and runs large-scale mixed-use redevelopment projects including the $163 million ConnCAT Place development at Dixwell Plaza. Programs and services are delivered free or at subsidized rates to community members and supported by grants, donations, and real estate returns.

Product overview

ConnCORP operates as a multi-initiative community development organization offering a portfolio of interconnected programs focused on economic development and revitalization in New Haven's underserved neighborhoods. The core offerings include The Lab at ConnCORP (business incubator/accelerator), First Haven in Dixwell (major neighborhood redevelopment), ConnCORP Housing (real estate development), and Orchid Gallery (arts ecosystem support). These are supplemented by food services through Orchid Cafe and ConnCAT Catering, the Entrepreneurship Academy for workforce development, and ConnCORP Journal for community engagement. The organization functions as a platform-plus-modules architecture, where The Lab serves as the central business support hub, connected to real estate initiatives and workforce training programs that together create a comprehensive economic development ecosystem.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Lab at ConnCORP: Business incubator and accelerator supporting Black-owned and minority-led businesses with education, mentorship, financial training, leadership development, and affordable office space
• First Haven in Dixwell
• Orchid Gallery
• Orchid Cafe
• ConnCAT Catering

Products and services

• The Lab at ConnCORP A business incubator and accelerator that supports Black-owned and minority-led businesses with education, mentorship, financial training, leadership development, and affordable office space in New Haven's underserved neighborhoods.
• First Haven in Dixwell A neighborhood redevelopment project transforming the historic Dixwell Plaza commercial strip into a mixed-use development with mixed-income housing, childcare, healthcare, grocery store, food hall, theater, and public plaza.
• ConnCORP Housing Property development initiative focused on acquiring and revitalizing commercial and residential properties in New Haven neighborhoods, including properties at 163 Ivy Street and 251 W Hazel Street.
• Orchid Gallery An annual open-call gallery showcasing artworks by early-career artists of color from the Greater Haven Area, developed in partnership with The Building Fund to invest in marginalized creative entrepreneurs.
• Orchid Cafe A cafe operated in support of ConnCAT's Culinary Arts Academy career training program that sources ingredients from locally-based businesses.
• ConnCAT Catering Catering services provided by ConnCAT's Culinary Arts Academy, designed to fulfill market demand for food service professionals and produce well-rounded hospitality professionals.
• Entrepreneurship Academy A workforce development program under ConnCAT training the next generation of skilled workers in construction, culinary arts, healthcare, technology, and entrepreneurship.

Quantifiable outcome

• ConnCORP and ConnCAT have launched The Lab at ConnCORP as a business incubator and accelerator launched in April 2021, supporting Black-owned and minority-led businesses with education, mentorship, financial training, leadership development, and affordable office space.

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• The Building Fund (BLDG FUND)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Orchid Gallery, an annual visual arts exhibition showcasing early-career artists of color from the Greater Haven Area. The partnership invests in marginalized creative entrepreneurs and makes art accessible to the general public.
• The WorkPlacecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCreation of the Alliance for Cannabis Equity (ACE) between ConnCORP and The WorkPlace, focused on social equity and economic opportunities for Black and Brown entrepreneurs and minority workers in the cannabis industry across Connecticut.
• Friends Center for ChildrencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to operate a childcare center at ConnCAT Place, part of the health-job-childcare hub development at Dixwell Plaza.
• Cornell Scott Hill HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to operate a children's mental health center at ConnCAT Place, part of the integrated health services at the Dixwell development.
• New Haven Police DepartmentminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on the 2nd Annual Christmas Toy Giveaway, bringing holiday cheer to local families and strengthening neighborhood connections between community members and officers.
• ConnCAT (Connecticut Center for Arts and Technology)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerConnCORP is a for-profit development-focused affiliate of ConnCAT. ConnCAT provides workforce development, career training, and youth programs. ConnCORP advances ConnCAT's mission through real estate development and community investment.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Others

• National Development Council: NDC is a national nonprofit economic development organization providing training, lending, and consulting for community-based economic development projects. Comparable as a peer organization in capacity-building for community development, though NDC's model is more consulting-oriented than ConnCORP's direct property development.
• Connecticut Center for Arts and Technology (ConnCAT): ConnCAT is ConnCORP's parent organization and the workforce development engine of the integrated model. Included as an ecosystem peer rather than a competitor — the two are explicitly affiliated, with ConnCORP created to advance ConnCAT's mission.

Emerging players

• Mission Driven Finance: Mission Driven Finance is an impact-focused fund manager deploying patient capital into businesses serving low-income communities. Comparable as an emerging peer in the place-based impact investing space that ConnCORP positions itself within via ConnCORP's minority business investment stream.

Broad incumbents

• Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC): LISC is one of the largest U.S. community development financial institutions, financing real estate, small business, and neighborhood revitalization in underserved communities. Directly comparable to ConnCORP's integrated real estate + community investment model, but operates nationally with a much larger footprint.
• The Community Builders: TCB is a national nonprofit developer of affordable housing combined with on-site services. ConnCORP's ConnCAT Place mixed-use development with embedded health and childcare services is structurally similar to TCB's service-enriched housing approach.
• Enterprise Community Partners: Enterprise is a national nonprofit that combines affordable housing development, capital deployment, and policy advocacy for community resilience. ConnCORP's workforce-development-linked real estate model parallels Enterprise's place-based strategy, though Enterprise operates at significantly greater scale.
• Habitat for Humanity International: Habitat is the largest U.S. nonprofit housing organization combining construction, rehabilitation, and homebuyer programs in underserved communities. ConnCORP's property revitalization work shares Habitat's community-led development DNA but with a commercial real estate and small business emphasis rather than single-family homeownership.

Direct peers

• BRIDGE Housing: BRIDGE Housing is a nonprofit affordable housing developer that integrates resident services and community amenities into mixed-use developments. ConnCORP's ConnCAT Place (housing + healthcare + childcare + retail) is a structurally analogous model at smaller scale.

Regional players

• New Haven Community Development Corporation (various): Regional community development corporations operating in the same New Haven geography with overlapping missions of neighborhood revitalization, affordable housing, and small business support. Most direct geographic overlap with ConnCORP's footprint.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/conncorp-llc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Subsidiaries6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Connecticut Community Outreach Revitalization Program