Rolan Joni Young | McCarter & English, LLP

Rolan is a leader in affordable housing, community and economic development and in representing community-based healthcare providers.

Rolan Joni Young helps commercial developers, lenders, public housing authorities, and community healthcare organizations shepherd development projects from conception to completion. From assisting with site selection to negotiating construction contracting and financing to addressing land use and zoning compliance, she navigates clients through the process of building consensus and support for these projects, including public/private partnerships necessary for successful completion. These clients have included six public housing authorities, a large federally qualified community health center, and for-profit and non-profit developers.

She represents clients in addressing a full range of commercial real estate, affordable housing, community and economic development, healthcare regulatory, and public and municipal law matters. In her legal and community work, Rolan has championed important social justice initiatives that have helped remove obstacles and advance transformative projects benefitting disadvantaged communities.

As a community leader, her accomplishments include serving as the Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority from 2006-2011 and as a former Chair of the Board and board member of the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven. She served as the first woman President of the Greater New Haven NAACP and was a member of the Executive Board of the NAACP Connecticut State Conference.

Rolan currently serves as the Chairperson of the Board of Directors of New Haven Bank, a community bank and community development financial institution, and is a member of the Greater New Haven Chapter of The Links, Incorporated. She is actively involved in the statewide community and has been a member of the Dixwell Congregational United Church of Christ since 1960.

A frequent lecturer, Rolan has spoken on community and private development and community healthcare topics and was a visiting lecturer at Yale University Law School.

Closed on the redevelopment of McConaughy Terrace in New Haven, CT, to include approximately 250 units of affordable housing and related community space with a combined total development cost of approximately $88 million. The real property was ground leased to an affiliated entity and then subjected to a condominium regime to permit two separate tranches of financing, including both 9% and 4% low-income housing tax credits, investor equity state funding, Moving to Work funding, and traditional debt. Our work included securing land use permits and approvals, negotiating and preparing a Cooperation Agreement with the City with respect to real property taxes, providing title and survey review, preparing and negotiating all transaction documents, and closing.

Closed on a $1.4 million acquisition of approximately two acres of partially developed land located along the Quinnipiac River waterfront, which is planned to be developed into a mixed-use, multifamily residential and commercial/retail development that includes approximately 50 units of a mix of affordable and market rate housing.

Closed on a $21 million acquisition of more than eight acres of vacant land formerly known as Church Street South, located across from the New Haven, CT train station, which is planned to be developed into a mixed-use commercial and retail development that includes 1,000 units of market rate and affordable housing to be part of a transit-oriented project. The project will be developed in conjunction with the redevelopment of an existing immediately adjacent 93-unit public housing development also owned by the Authority.

Represents multistate developers in the acquisition, financing, and development of multifamily developments using multi-layered financing, including LIHTC, state, federal, and commercial financing.

Represented REACH Riverside Development Corporation in connection with the multifaceted redevelopment—modeled on the holistic community redevelopment principles of the nationally renowned Purpose Built Communities network—of Northeast Wilmington, Delaware’s Riverside neighborhood.

Represents one of Connecticut’s largest federally qualified community health centers in the development of a community substance abuse treatment facility and compliance with healthcare regulatory requirements.

Represented several public housing authorities in creating instrumentalities to undertake the development of affordable housing, drafting corporate documents and procurement policies and procedures, and obtaining federal tax exempt status.

Represented a municipal housing authority in the multi-phase redevelopment of a riverfront housing development comprised of 273 housing units—including 136 affordable units, 67 workforce units, and 70 market rate units—and a community learning center as well as its related $300 million financing using HUD Choice Neighborhood Initiative and other state, federal, LIHTC, and private funding sources.

Represented a developer in converting a former bus terminal Brownfield site into a high-tech startup incubator campus.

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