East Hartford officials are angling for a $9 million state grant to help turn a vacant office tower overlooking the Connecticut River into hundreds of apartments, adding to public subsidies already committed to a massive redevelopment of the aging Founders Plaza office park. The request comes on top of a $6 million grant the state’s […]
East Hartford officials are angling for a $9 million state grant to help turn a vacant office tower overlooking the Connecticut River into hundreds of apartments, adding to public subsidies already committed to a massive redevelopment of the aging Founders Plaza office park.
The request comes on top of a $6 million grant the state’s Community Investment Fund board endorsed in March for the conversion of the 19-story, 1971-vintage office tower at 111 Founders Plaza. East Hartford officials, in December, had asked for $15 million to help developers replace the exterior skin of the 270,106-square-foot building.
State officials approved a lower number, however.
Now, town officials are looking for another CIF allocation to bring the amount of subsidy up to their original $15 million request.
According to a memo from East Hartford’s Deputy Development Director Steve Hnatuk, the money would help replace the exterior envelope of the 111 Founders Plaza tower. Developers plan to transform the building into 240 to 260 apartments, according to a summary supplied to East Hartford’s Town Council. The council is scheduled to take up the latest grant request during its meeting on Tuesday.
The tower is part of a 30-acre cluster of aging office properties — collectively known as Founders Plaza — that were recently acquired by a development group pursuing a large-scale redevelopment called “Port Eastside.”
The development team includes several high-profile regional players: brothers Harris and Bruce Simons of West Hartford-based Figure 8 Properties; Hartford developer Lexington Partners; investor and businessman Alan Lazowski; Hoffman Auto Group co-chairman Jeffrey S. Hoffman; Manafort Brothers Inc. President Jim Manafort; and Peter S. Roisman, head of Houston-based multifamily investor REV.
Together, they’ve sketched out a long-term plan to remake the aging Founders Plaza office park into a mixed-use district featuring roughly 1,000 multifamily units — primarily apartments, with a possible small number of condominiums — alongside about 400,000 square feet of entertainment, restaurant and retail space.
In a statement released Monday afternoon, the Port Eastside partners said their $90 million conversion of 111 Founders Plaza will turn a distressed office building into a dynamic residential community, serving as the cornerstone of a revitalization of the dormant surrounding commercial district.
The additional, $9 million grant application being considered by the town is “essential to bring this transformative project across the finish line,” Port Eastside Partner Bruce Simons said, according to the Port Eastside release.
The tower redevelopment will involve new energy efficient upgrades and result in the installation of a full sprinkler system, which had been lacking, Simons noted.
“Our work is already well underway, with demolition and clearing of the former Bank of America building and parking garage, and we are proud to partner with the Town of East Hartford to move this exciting project forward,” Simons said.
East Hartford Mayor Connor Martin said the 111 Founders redevelopment aligns well with the Community Investment Fund’s mission to advance development in traditionally underserved communities, as well as the broad desire among Connecticut’s political leaders to foster more housing creation.
The transformation of the office tower will be an important catalyst for the rest of the project, Martin said. It will generate tax revenue that can be partially fed back into the broader development through a tax increment financing agreement, while also helping attract retailers and other commercial ventures to the project, he noted.
The town is working with developers on the creation of a tax increment financing district, which could use a portion of new tax revenue generated by the mixed-used project to offset some development costs.
Martin said state officials have encouraged an application for the additional grant funding, which will help demonstrate the impact of the state’s CIF program.
“It shows momentum, it shows progress,” Martin said.
The town is already using $6.5 million in state grant dollars to demolish the 182,890-square-foot former Bank of America office building at 99 Founders Plaza, as well as a 126,000-square-foot parking garage attached to 111 Founders Plaza.
That ongoing demolition is making room for Port Eastside’s construction of an apartment building of more than 300 units overlooking the river, according to town officials.
