East Hartford seeks state grant to study redevelopment potential in key part of town

East Hartford’s long-lackluster Silver Lane commercial corridor is currently buzzing with activity.

Construction of two massive warehouses totaling 2.5 million square feet at Rentschler Field is nearing completion. A groundbreaking for a 402-unit apartment complex at the former Showcase Cinemas site is expected in April. 

And demolition of the time-worn Silver Lane Plaza is expected to begin shortly – creating more development space.

Now, town officials are contemplating a second redevelopment push to the north – around Burnside Avenue, Church Street, Scotland Road and Forbes Street.

Mayor Connor Martin is asking the Town Council Tuesday tonight for permission to apply for a $200,000 Brownfield Area-Wide Revitalization (BAR) grant from the state Department of Economic and Community Development.

The grant can be used to determine the redevelopment potential and obstacles of a particular area, including one with environmental contamination.

A similar $200,000 grant, approved in 2016, funded a revitalization plan for the Silver Lane corridor, said East Hartford Development Director Eileen Buckheit.

The Silver Lane planning study helped East Hartford create a redevelopment vision, which the community adopted and the town is now acting on, Buckheit said.

“This is kind of like step one, to talk about what is in the current inventory of properties that are here and how they are being used,” Buckheit told the Hartford Business Journal. A study, if funded, would consider if those properties are being used to their potential, Buckheit said.