A former downtown Hartford church property that was purchased by the state in 2008 and has been considered for various uses, including a performance venue, has been listed for sale.
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A former downtown Hartford church property that was purchased by the state in 2008 and has been considered for various uses, including a performance venue, has been listed for sale.
The 22,490-square-foot empty building at 129 Lafayette St. was listed last month by the state of Connecticut, and it represents the fourth downtown Hartford property the Department of Administrative Services (DAS) has put up for sale in recent months.
All four properties are located within a mile of each other and are in, or close to, an area seen as key for the ongoing mixed-use redevelopment near The Bushnell.
The other for-sale properties include 18-20 Trinity St., an 87,637-square-foot office building on 0.85 acres with 43 on-site parking spaces; and 30 Trinity St., a 76,665-square-foot office building on 0.8 acres with 24 on-site parking spaces. Both were listed for sale in mid-April.
In March DAS also listed for sale a state-owned parking lot at 340 Capitol Ave., which sits in the shadow of the Capitol Lofts apartments and State Armory.
Shane Mallory, who oversees state government’s real estate portfolio, said DAS has been assessing state-owned properties over the last few years to determine which buildings are underutilized and could be sold off to save money.
The four downtown Hartford properties present several different opportunities for development or redevelopment, although the state doesn’t dictate how they can be used, he said.
“We let the market dictate the use,” Mallory said, adding that a buyer must conform to local zoning codes. The four properties are currently all zoned for mixed use.
Capital Region Development Authority Executive Director Michael Freimuth has said the Trinity Street properties are key pieces of real estate that could bring housing to the neighborhood around The Bushnell.
New rental units on Trinity Street would complement the mixed-use conversion of a historic office building at 55 Elm St., which has been used in recent decades by state workers.
Norwalk developer Spinnaker Real Estate Partners is leading the Elm Street conversion and is moving forward with a proposed $63.3 million, 164 unit mixed-use apartment redevelopment that will include coworking and restaurant space. Up to 70 of the living units will be constructed so they can be available for hotel rooms, if the market justifies the need.
Mallory said the Trinity Street properties have seen significant interest from developers, though no formal plans have been submitted yet. The RFP deadline for those properties is July 9.
“I think there is a big interest in housing,” Mallory said. “Several different groups have looked at Trinity Street. The tours have been very well attended.”
The Lafayette Street property was built in phases between 1923 and 1930 for the Second Church of Christ Scientist and served as a place of worship for over 80 years until it was purchased by the state in 2008 for $2.2 million, Mallory said.
The property has largely stood vacant since then. It had been pitched as a rehearsal and performance space for the Hartford Symphony Orchestra and for use by the Connecticut State Library Museum of Connecticut History, but nothing ever materialized.
Interested developers have until July 16 to submit a bid for the Lafayette Street property.
