Infinity Music Hall’s slow recovery in the last few years mirrors the experience of Hartford’s broader Front Street entertainment district, which took a major hit from the pandemic, losing significant foot traffic and a few tenants. Some recent momentum could portend a better 2023. Fresh activity includes the opening of Plan b restaurant, a burger […]
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Infinity Music Hall’s slow recovery in the last few years mirrors the experience of Hartford’s broader Front Street entertainment district, which took a major hit from the pandemic, losing significant foot traffic and a few tenants.
Some recent momentum could portend a better 2023.
Fresh activity includes the opening of Plan b restaurant, a burger joint that debuted late last year in space formerly occupied by Ted’s Montana Grill, which closed in September 2020.
The quasi-public Capital Region Development Authority, which oversees Front Street, is also in late-stage talks with another restaurant to occupy 7,500 square feet of currently available space, according to CRDA Executive Director Mike Freimuth.
Plan b has, and the new restaurant would take advantage of the city’s Hart Lift program, which provides grants to landlords to fit out empty retail space for new tenants, Freimuth said.
In addition, an engineering firm is also in talks to move to Front Street, he added.
Overall, about 30% of the Front Street district’s 110,000 square feet of space is currently vacant.
That includes ground-floor space at 89 Arch St., formerly occupied by Blind Pig Pizza, which closed in 2021. A cannabis retailer had eyed that property for a new recreational dispensary, but CRDA blocked those plans arguing it detracts from the area’s family-friendly offerings.
The Front Street district, originally developed by Greenwich-based HB Nitkin Group in partnership with the state and city as part of the broader Adriaen’s Landing project, encompasses roughly four blocks and a half-dozen buildings on Front, Arch and Prospect streets.
It includes 174 apartments in two separate properties, entertainment venues and restaurants serving everything from tacos to expensive steak.
In another positive sign, the 121-unit luxury Front Street Lofts apartment building sold last year to New Jersey investors for $35.3 million.
The district is also home to a branch campus of the University of Connecticut.
The majority of Front Street’s nine tenants are restaurants, including The Capital Grille, Bear’s BBQ and Pollo Guapo.
There’s also Infinity Music Hall and the Apple Cinemas dine-in movie theater.
“Businesses are slowly finding their way,” Freimuth said of Front Street tenants. “Some are doing better than others. The restaurants are continuing to grow, but, frankly, the movie theater is lagging behind, which is not unique to the movie business. That’s nationwide as there are streaming services in your home now.”
Foot traffic has picked up over the past year, Freimuth added, while the north and south parking garages currently have 68% utilization rates.
“I think it’s fair to say that COVID has stressed everybody,” Freimuth said. “It’s been a slow climb back up, but it is a climb back up.”
Mayor Luke Bronin said Front Street remains an attractive location “because you have a concentration of restaurants there already that draw people into the movie theater and Infinity Hall.”
“Its location puts it in close proximity to both the heart of downtown and to the intersections of 84 and 91,” Bronin said.
