🔒Bordonaro: Land-use policies weigh heavily on local economic development opportunities

Hotels and office buildings being converted to apartments. Mall space being transformed into healthcare and mixed-use facilities. Old manufacturing plants being re-imagined as modern e-commerce warehouse distribution centers.

All these types of redevelopment projects are occurring around our state and country. As we move closer to a post-pandemic world, I believe we are headed toward a great period of redevelopment.

The last year-and-a-half brought myriad challenges and accelerated shifts in many industries, forcing old-line companies and industries to close or shrink. Meantime, the future of office and hotel space — asset classes that were battered by the pandemic — remains uncertain.

What is certain is that there is plenty of empty and underutilized commercial real estate in Connecticut, providing countless opportunities for developers and businesses looking to expand their portfolios or operations.

The Hartford Business Journal in recent weeks has highlighted many redevelopment trends. In October, we published a story about developers snatching up shuttered hotels and converting them into apartments. There are at least a half-dozen such projects in the works across the state.

In this week’s issue we highlight the struggle of traditional malls and how some developers are converting empty storefront space into apartments, offices or even healthcare facilities.

Reinvention is the name of the game. But as new uses for vacant properties are considered, countless challenges stand in the way, including municipal land-use regulations.

Planning and zoning commissions are often overlooked bodies of local government but they are key gatekeepers in determining which development projects go forward, or get blocked.

Connecticut, of course, does not have a great reputation when it comes to new development. Whether it’s a penchant for NIMBYISM, high property taxes or construction costs, environmental concerns or other regulatory barriers, there are easier states in which to build or redevelop properties.

As municipalities continue to face pressure to keep property tax rates in check and grow their grand lists, cities and towns with the most flexible zoning regulations and boards will have a competitive advantage in wooing new development in the months and years ahead.

It’s a topic that came up during a recent panel discussion I moderated for the virtual 2021 Greater Hartford Association of Realtors and UConn commercial real estate conference. The panel included the mayors of Hartford, West Hartford, Bristol, Manchester and Bloomfield — all communities with significant development projects in the works.

Each of the mayors talked about the need to change, or at least consider changing, zoning policies as new opportunities arise. They also discussed how each of their communities use tax breaks and other incentives to help spur new development.

Does that mean giving away the house to a developer? No, but it does mean being open and welcoming to new opportunities.

Right now, the playing field is uneven. For example, in October, developers broke ground on 260 luxury apartments on the Westfield Trumbull Mall property, in hopes of transforming that struggling retail facility into a more mixed-use, live-play-work community.

Conversely, Milford’s town planners rejected a 300-unit, mixed-use apartment redevelopment at the site of the struggling Connecticut Post Mall.

One zoning issue that’s made headlines recently is cannabis regulations. Many communities have passed temporary moratoriums on the industry, waiting for more clarity on how best to regulate marijuana cultivation and retail sites.

Other municipalities, including the city of Hartford, are ready to embrace the new industry and are setting up regulations that will allow dispensaries and grow facilities.

Communities that are fast-moving will have the best chance to cash in on the economic development opportunities brought on by the recreational marijuana industry.

Of course, planning and zoning commissions are made up of elected, volunteer and unpaid board members. It’s a thankless job, but the work they do is important.

While it may have flown under the radar, Nov. 2 is Election Day. There are no sexy national or statewide races this year, but municipalities across the state have local elections, including for positions on land-use boards.

Voter turnout in off-year elections is often dismal, but as outlined above, who sits on municipal boards can have a major impact on local decision making.

So make sure you go out and vote. Whether or not your community can benefit from the next major mixed-use development opportunity could depend on it.