The town of East Hartford has acquired a 22-acre retail plaza that has been deteriorating for years.
The town took the Silver Lane Plaza property, appraised at $4.6 million, using eminent domain. At 9 a.m. Wednesday, a “certificate of taking” was filed with the town clerk, Mayor Michael Walsh’s office announced.
Walsh previously said he was hesitant to employ eminent domain, but that the owner, East Hartford Venture LLC, rebuffed repeated requests to repair the deteriorating property or negotiate a sale to the town.
The blighted property has stymied broader efforts to reverse a decades-long decline of the Silver Lane retail and commercial corridor, the town said.
In October 2022, the East Hartford Redevelopment Agency voted 4-0 to acquire the plaza via the eminent domain statute.
The action was also approved by the Town Council.
The town said it will work with existing tenants as it demolishes the central building and explores development options.
“I ask the impacted businesses to please be patient as the process unfolds, because we value them and their commitment to the community,” Walsh said. “East Hartford has a lot of work to do, and Silver Lane is an example of just how good East Hartford can be.”
