In its meeting Monday, Hartford’s City Council will consider giving property and tax breaks enabling two developments in blighted areas north of the city center.
City leaders propose to give four properties at the corner of Main and Ann Uccello Streets to a partnership of the nonprofit San Juan Center and apartments developer Carabetta Development LLC. Using these and four privately held properties, the partnership plans a $17.4 million project resulting in 43 apartments and 7,300 square feet of retail space in three buildings.
One of the city properties holds a four-story, mixed-use building that once hosted the Arrowhead Café on its first floor. The others are vacant.
The council is also being asked to grant the development a decade-long tax break. Under it, there would be no taxes for the first three years, with the tax burden rising from 5% of what otherwise would be owed to 12% in the following seven years.
“The proposed development will result in the redevelopment of a severely blighted City owned building along with two underutilized privately-owned historic structures,” Mayor Luke Bronin wrote to council members. “This development will be a critical component in the link between downtown Hartford and the City’s North end neighborhoods.”
This “Arrowhead” project was awarded a $6.3 million state grant. The balance of funds would come from a Capital Region Development Authority loan, private-sector loan, historic tax credits, developer equity and funds allocated to the city from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Several blocks to the west — at the corner of Albany Avenue and Woodland Street — city leaders want to give four vacant lots to a partnership of nonprofit National Development Council and Atlanta-based Genesis Development Partners. Â The plan is to merge those properties and two abutting vacant properties held by Kings Chapel Church of God to create two parcels.
One of the resulting properties would be sold for $250,000 to Genesis, which would build a $1.9 million, 2,502-square-foot retail building.
Under the proposed agreement, the second property would undergo an estimated $12 million development, yielding a 38,000-square-foot commercial building. The city would lease 15,600 square feet of office space for its Health Department at up to $270,000 a year. There would also be space for a community room, restaurant and retail shops.
The proposal would bring about 65 health department staff to the area.
Under the proposal, Hartford would sell the city properties for $1. It would waive all property tax on the 38,000-square-foot development for a decade. After that, the city would have the right to buy the building for $1.
Under the proposal, the public would supply the bulk of development funds for the 38,000-square-foot building, with a $5 million city grant and a $5.5 million loan from the Capital Region Development Authority.Â
