City Collects $500K In Back Taxes, Interest, Fees After Clock Shop Sale

by Dereen Shirnekhi

The city has received more than $500,000 owed in back taxes, interest, and fees by the former owners of the long-vacant Hamilton Street clock factory.

That money came through on July 31 after the Housing Authority of New Haven (HANH) finally bought the 133 Hamilton St. property from Taom Heritage New Haven LLC for $4 million.

HANH first announced its plans to purchase the historic complex in 2023, as the property was in the midst of a city tax foreclosure. Taom Heritage, which was then controlled by Scott Reed of the Oregon-based Reed Community Partners, had failed to follow through on its plan to redevelop the former clock factory into 130 apartments.

Taom Heritage owed $531,553.35 in back taxes, interest, and fees dating back to 2019. The LLC paid that money to the city on July 31, according to tax records.

The first half of the latest tax bill for 133 Hamilton, totaling $19,771.60, was also paid by the housing authority on July 31, meaning that the building is officially up to date on its taxes and fees.

The city has also released and discharged code-violation notices related to the property, a lien for unpaid fines, and pending litigation against the property, according to city land records.

City spokesperson Lenny Speiller told the Independent that the taxes were paid out of the $4 million sale price rather than in addition, “as part of the distribution of the purchase funds, as the first encumbrance to be satisfied.”

The housing authority plans to transform the former clock factory into an approximately 130-unit residential community, where all units will serve low-income or moderate-income households. The project is expected to cost around $70 million, financed through a combination of tax-exempt private-activity bonds, 4% Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, federal and state Historic Tax Credits, and other public-private funding sources.

The deal between HANH and Taom Heritage had been held up by Taom’s failure to complete environmental remediation at the site; the building was beset by squatters and fires and anti-blight and safety notices from the city.

Then, in September 2025, Bill Kraus and a group of clock shop creditors stripped Reed of decision-making authority at Taom Heritage via an involuntary-bankruptcy lawsuit. Kraus ultimately took control of the holding company that owned the Hamilton Street property — until its sale to the housing authority this summer.