While businesses along US 5 in East Hartford fight for survival in a tough economy, city officials and an expanding city college are doing what they can to make the region more attractive.
The city is implementing a Main Street Improvement project that aims to beautify the area and attract new businesses and shoppers.
Meanwhile, Goodwin College is buying up dilapidated housing and refurbishing it for student and faculty use.
Mark Scheinberg, president of Goodwin College, said the key objective is to stabilize the neighborhood and make the area more attractive to potential students, families and businesses.
“We have made the determination and a full commitment to being a permanent resident of the southern part of East Hartford,” Scheinberg said. “The streets are really having a rebirth and I think we are at least a key player in this renaissance.”
Goodwin has purchased nearly 25 homes, and 39 units in East Hartford neighborhoods east of Rt. 2 (between Rt. 2 and Main Street), and just south of the Charter Oak Bridge on Rt. 5 and 15.
The homes are being been refurbished and modernized for student and faculty housing, Scheinberg said.
Goodwin is also negotiating to purchase the former Pratt & Whitney Wilgoos Turbine Lab on Pent Road.
Additionally, the school is working on a letter of intent with the East Hartford Housing Authority that would result in the purchase of approximately 30 vacant units in the King Court complex. The housing units would be used for Goodwin College students with limited incomes.
Meanwhile, East Hartford is doing what it can to help Main Street become more appealing to shoppers and businesses. That includes a Main Street Improvement project, in which the city hopes to add plantings along the Route 5 stretch, and install solar-powered trash cans that can eliminate litter on streets, said Jeanne Webb, East Hartford’s director of development and planning.
City officials are also leading a joint marketing effort among businesses on Main Street for the annual Podunk Bluegrass Festival. The festival will be held in August and draws about 5,000 people over a four-day period.
That could mean big business for small companies on Main Street.
“We are trying to do little things that make the area look nicer and help businesses thrive,” Webb said.
Webb estimates the vacancy rate along Main Street is less than 10 percent.
“We have seen some businesses come and go,” she said “but I don’t know if it’s more or less than usual. I think generally when you look at it, its faring better than other areas.”
An art gallery recently moved into a space on Main Street, and a new dental office and walk-in clinic will take over a building, next to Riverside Health Care Center, that had housed a St. Francis Care clinic, which moved to a nearby location in town.
Still, there are a lot of properties that haven’t had investments in many years and could use a facelift, Webb said. She said East Hartford is looking for lending sources to help fill that need.
“The banks still aren’t lending so we still aren’t seeing the types of investments we’d normally want,” Webb said. “But we are getting more phone calls from interested businesses. We are still very cautious.”
