The City of Bristol is searching for a developer to build on the last bit of property available in a 15-acre site that once hosted a downtown mall.
Bristol officials have issued a “requests-for-proposals” seeking a developer interested in building multifamily housing or a mixed-use redevelopment of a 1.35-acre corner of what was once the Bristol Centre Mall.
The city demolished the roughly 200,000-square-foot mall in 2008 and has since made a lot of progress with the site’s redevelopment.
Bristol Health completed a 60,000-square-foot medical complex on-site in 2018. Wheeler Health opened its 45,000-square-foot headquarters and treatment center in August 2024.
Additionally, Carrier Construction recently finished a mixed-use building with 52 market-rate apartments and 8,000 square feet of ground-floor retail. The builder is nearing completion of a second, 52-unit, mixed-use building. A related company has also acquired a nearby half-acre parcel on-site for approximately 30 more apartments.
The Centre Square property includes access to a 196-space parking garage serving both public and private users, pedestrian-oriented streetscapes, a CTfastrak stop and local bus stops, and the future pocket park. It’s within walking distance of City Hall, the police department and several major employers.
The site being offered is bordered to the north by the new Wheeler Health facility, to the south by a future 0.65-acre “pocket park” to be built by the city, to the east by Hope Street and the Bristol Health medical complex. North Main Street runs along its western edge.
The site sits within a state-designated Enterprise Zone, a federally designated Opportunity Zone, as well as a Tax Increment Financing District. It means developers may be able to negotiate access to a number of different tax incentives.
The site appraised for $650,000, but the purchase price will be one of several factors weighed by a selection committee. More important is long-term benefits, said Justin Malley, executive director of economic and community development for the city.
“What we are interested in is the long-term value and return on this project: what will there be there in 10 years?,” Malley said. “Will it be serving the community? Will it be providing people a place to live? It’s giving the community back something long-term, that’s the most important part of the discussion.”
This 1.35-acre parcel is the last portion of the former mall site available. It is coming on the market now as the city has finished a parking garage to serve the broader development site.
Proposals are due by 11 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 29. Prospective developers may also be called for interviews. Malley said the city aims to make a selection at some point this spring.
Details of the RFP can be found on the city’s website, Bristolct.gov, under the “bids” menu. It can also be found under the city’s marketing website Bristolallheart.com under the “available properties for sale” banner.
Additional questions can be directed to Justin Malley at JustinMalley@bristolct.gov.
