A developer with a growing roster of apartment developments and renovations in a long-struggling corner of Hartford has proposed a $30.4 million project mixing 78 apartments and 12,000 square feet of commercial and office space on two city-owned properties.
The administration of Mayor Luke Bronin has funneled millions of dollars into reviving the Albany Avenue corridor with streetscape improvements and public-private redevelopment partnerships.
Now, Bronin is proposing to grant a 49-year lease – with options to renew – of 88 Magnolia St. and 614 Albany Ave., two blighted properties totaling nearly 1.2 acres to Andaleeb Enterprises LLC. The developer proposes a four-story building of apartments over commercial and office space. The city would also provide an unspecified amount of financial assistance for the project, according to a letter Bronin sent to the City Council.
The remaining funding will come from a senior loan; tax credits and a loan from the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority; Connecticut Department of Housing Funds; and equity, according to Bronin.
In his letter, Bronin describes the targeted properties as “blighted and underutilized for many years.” The lease to Andaleeb Enterprises will be part of an online public hearing before the City Council on Monday.
The city properties contain a fenced basketball court. Amber “Ace” Andaleeb, who manages the family investments, said the development will be an improvement.
“The park has been neglected forever and it’s time someone put a good use to it,” Andaleeb said. “What we are doing will benefit the community. We will create some new, affordable and modern housing over there.”
Andaleeb said a positive vote on the land lease would allow him to line up grants and other financing.
The Magnolia/Albany project would be the most ambitious yet for Andaleeb Enterprises, a vehicle of family investors that got its start in Hartford with an Albany Avenue convenience store. In the past three years, the Andaleeb family has – either independently or with investors – committed more than $6.3 million buying at least a dozen commercial and mixed-use apartment properties in Hartford – eight of them along Albany Avenue.
This well-traveled artery serves as a gateway to downtown Hartford but has long been plagued by extensive blight.
The city already has experience with the Bloomfield-based family, having recently granted Andaleeb Enterprises a 98-year lease on 270 Albany Ave. and three adjacent properties. There, the plan is to build 40 apartments above 3,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space in two buildings. That project cost is estimated to be around $10.7 million.
Andaleeb Enterprises was selected to redevelop 88 Magnolia St. and 614 Albany Ave. based on its response to an Oct. 3, 2022 request-for-proposals issued by the city. The proposal includes 16 three-bedroom apartments, 22 two-bedroom apartments and 40 one-bedroom units, 52 of which will be set at affordable rates. The plan calls for 59 off-street parking spaces.
Andaleeb will be required to comply with city fair-wage requirements, along with hiring targets for minority and women-owned businesses. It will also be required to make payments in lieu of taxes to the city beginning three years after the start of the ground lease. PILOT payments would start at 5% of gross revenue in years four and five, gradually ratcheting up to 8.5% as of 16 years following the start of the ground lease.
Under the tentative agreement struck with the city, Andaleeb Enterprises would have nine months to vet the project and secure financing before it is committed.
