Détente in the tug of war between the University of Connecticut and city of Hartford over UConn’s relocation to the Capital City recently broke out with both sides saying they have come to the table to talk out their differences.
While both sides agree moving more students downtown is a good thing, the decision of where to locate UConn’s Hartford campus turned into a public spat when UConn decided it wants to relocate to the old Hartford Times building on Prospect Street, while the city strongly prefers the Talcott Garage site.
In order to move forward, one meeting won’t do. A single meeting is not an action plan or a resolution; it’s usually just a first step.
The principals involved need to stop talking past each other to the media and, instead, regularly sit together until they become a team that jointly discusses progress and their collaborative efforts.
Real collaboration and teamwork comes from the heart, and we need some heart right now.
Future negotiations between the city and UConn will only be effective if each party is willing to learn, and then, if needed, change. It needs to amount to more than the usual “I win, you lose” outcome often favored in this state.
Sitting down regularly may not bring about a happy resolution for both parties, but it’s needed to get everyone rowing in the same direction; not “my direction” or “your direction” but that challenging “our direction,” so often elusive in Connecticut’s fractured political landscape.
UConn would be best served having the city of Hartford as a partner.
Despite the talks, however, UConn President Susan Herbst has stood her ground on the process and on moving forward with relocating to the Hartford Times site, while publicly saying the city needs a role in the development review.
Not the change of heart the city hoped for, but in reality this is just the normal tension of development. This, at its core, is a development deal no different than any other. And it’s all based on location, location, location.
The city sees both sides of the I-84 divide as the next frontier, with UConn serving as a beachhead for new development. UConn, however, prefers to be closer to existing amenities, like those soon to be offered at the Front Street entertainment district.
UConn prefers the less risky location in the middle of a development, not a pioneer on the edge. And, like the golden rule says, he who has gold makes the rules.
UConn is like any other business locating in the downtown. It wants to be where it can attract, retain and provide for its customers. The factors UConn cites can be reduced to the common formula of security, activity, and access.
While it sounds like the city and UConn may have begun to turn the corner, there is one more factor at play.
City officials sit on the board that ultimately controls the Hartford Times site. The city and Capital Region Development Authority, which now with money and land controls much of downtown Hartford’s development potential, need to form a better working relationship than what was revealed by this UConn incident.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy granted the city several seats on the CRDA board, so Hartford officials, including the mayor and development director, wield some power and can influence decision making. This gives the city the opportunity to be heard before decisions get made, something prior administrations did not allow. However, it seems right now collaboration only means attending some meetings, rather than the hard work of reaching a consensus.
So, while all parties have been at the table, it’s up to the city to stay proactive, and the state to provide meaningful opportunities for participation. If that doesn’t happen everyone will suffer, and the city will be a back seat driver to decisions being made in their front yard.
Between UConn, CRDA and the city, Hartford has a unique opportunity to ride the current wave of development to success, to push Hartford over the magical line of sustainable growth, something Stamford and New Haven appear to have already accomplished.
In order to achieve this result, the stakeholders have to stop playing a game of winners and losers, start listening to each other, and establish a unified team approach.
David Panagore is the former chief operating officer of the city of Hartford. He will be writing an occasional column for the Hartford Business Journal.
