District New Haven — the hip Elm City coworking space founded by serial entrepreneur David Salinas — is eyeing a new location in Hartford’s Parkville neighborhood.
Salinas is a partner in a much broader $242 million public-private redevelopment plan to create a Parkville Arts & Innovation District.
Part of the plan hinges on obtaining funding from the state’s Innovation Corridor Program, which tasks the Department of Economic and Community Development with picking two or more “transformational, place-making proposals for major urban areas or regional economic centers” for grants of up to $50 million each.
Programs must aim for at least 15,000 new jobs in data science, advanced manufacturing, insurance technology or other high-growth industries.
The city of Hartford has officially submitted its program application, connecting it with efforts to turn Parkville into an advanced manufacturing hub. It is seeking $48.4 million in state grant funding to leverage an overall $242 million investment in Parkville. The district would include 13 parcels of buildings and land spanning 55 acres.
Overall, the city’s Parkville Arts & Innovation District plan aims to boost residential development, job training and new manufacturing development in Parkville, leveraging many local organizations and nonprofits that already operate in the area.
“The plan we submitted represents a comprehensive proposal for creating jobs, connecting Hartford residents to opportunity, bringing blighted buildings back to life, making Parkville a center of digital innovation and protecting and promoting the distinctive spirit that makes Parkville so special to begin with,” Mayor Luke Bronin said in an email to project supporters this week.
Most of the projects outlined in the application — such as expansion of the Parkville Market and new apartment development in the area — have already been made public. The HBJ recently reported on many of those developments.
Salinas’ involvement is new.
According to plans, District New Haven would open a 20,000-square-foot coworking space in an advanced manufacturing innovation hub known as the “The Factory.” The Factory would be housed in the Champlin Company building, an 80,000-square-foot property at 81 Bartholomew Ave., and contain three distinct but linked spaces, dedicated respectively to advanced manufacturing technology and companies.
District New Haven’s coworking space would focus on advanced manufacturing innovation, but also be open to other types of companies.
The Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology (CCAT), in partnership with other organizations and higher-education institutions, will anchor and manage approximately 30,000 square feet of space in The Factory dedicated to helping small and mid-size manufacturers integrate new technologies into their existing workflows, and provide training necessary to do so.
Another 30,000 square feet of space — called Solutions @ The Factory — will serve as a home for technology-driven companies that “provide products and processes that enable attainment of Industry 4.0 standards for manufacturers,” according to the city.
Targeted tenant companies that have expressed strong interest in establishing a presence in this location, according to the city, include automation, digital production and cloud computing providers such as: Bright Machines, Cisco, Drishti, FANUC, Microsoft, Ready Robotics, Rockwell, Service Now, Sick, Sight Machines and Tulip.
The Factory, according to the city’s application, “will establish Parkville as the premier place on the East Coast to drive the adoption of Industry 4.0 practices.”
Another new project outlined in the city’s application is formation of the “Powerhouse,” a new center of workforce and talent development to be located at a vacant building at 45 Bartholomew Ave.
The long-vacant structure will be converted into a collaborative center for the development of digital and innovation talent.
The plan includes the creation of shared flexible, multi-purpose spaces so that Powerhouse members, such as the workforce development nonprofit Girls for Technology, can conduct workshops alongside classes, seminars or research symposia held by UConn, Trinity College or the University of Hartford, according to the application.
Partners involved in the plan include: Stanley Black & Decker, Launc[H]artford, the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology (CCAT), The District, Girls for Technology, Real Art Ways, Parkville Management, Hands on Hartford, reSET, the Capital Region Development Authority, Capital Community College and the Connecticut Colleges and State University System, Trinity College and the University of Hartford, among others.
Here’s a breakdown of the city’s overall funding requests:
