The Capital Region Development Authority is considering a $3 million loan to help Norwalk-based developer Spinnaker Real Estate Partners buy two blocks of property tallying to a little more than 2 acres in an area south of Bushnell Park targeted for large-scale multifamily development.
Hartford and the CRDA have been working for about two years to line up projects to transform about 20 acres of parking lots in the “Bushnell South” area into a vibrant neighborhood connecting the downtown to points south.
Spinnaker’s 2020 purchase of a former state office complex at 55 Elm St. from The Simon Konover Co. came with an option to buy the parking lot one block to the south, CRDA Executive Director Michael Feimuth has previously said. This option has been triggered and Spinnaker is facing a deadline this month to make the purchase or let it expire, he said.
The CRDA Board of Directors is scheduled this afternoon to consider a $3 million loan to facilitate Spinnaker’s purchase of two clusters of property.
Spinnaker is currently engaged in remodeling a former state office complex at 55 Elm St., into 164 apartments, a project backed by low-interest gap financing from CRDA. According to Freimuth, the Norwalk real estate firm is likely to pursue a mix of commercial and residential development on the parking lots to the south, probably with additional CRDA backing.
The resolution before the board seeks to address concerns from the Bushnell theater, which itself sought to purchase the property to preserve parking access after the possibility of a Spinnaker purchase was raised. It would afford the theater access to free events parking prior to development of the site and would have various developers active in the broader Bushnell South area work with officials to develop a parking and traffic plan.
The resolution would also require the site be taken out of consideration as a location for a new federal courthouse. Freimuth has previously said a courthouse would run counter to plans for the area’s redevelopment into a mix of multifamily housing and retail offerings. Konover’s site is one of three candidates the federal General Services Administration is considering for a replacement for the aging Abraham A. Ribicoff United States Building and Courthouse at 450 Main St.
The city, CRDA, Bushnell theater and Spinnaker all contributed to a 2021 redevelopment plan produced by Boston-based architecture and planning firm Goody Clancy. The resulting master plan calls for a neighborhood of 1,200 households, mixed with parks, commercial space and parking structures.
The loan being considered by CRDA would help Spinnaker buy a roughly 2-acre lot comprised of 63 and 67 Capitol Ave, and 186 Buckingham St., along with a roughly quarter-acre site composed of 94, 98 and 110 Buckingham St.
The CRDA is considering a loan of up to $3 million at 3% interest with a five-year term, which is extendable. Under the loan terms, a courthouse would be off the table, and Spinnaker would be expected to begin long-term redevelopment within five years, although that deadline could also be extended if market conditions are unfavorable, or if CRDA is unable to connect Spinnaker to needed public support for the project.
The Bushnell’s patrons would have access to the estimated 250 spaces of parking on the larger parcel free of charge for at least three years for “designated events.” Site developers also must seek to allow the Bushnell to invest in first-floor commercial space and/or parking, if possible, according to the term sheet.
