The Hartford city council Tuesday evening approved property transfers and other agreements that pave the way for a minor league baseball stadium and mixed-use development to be built in Downtown North.
Besides the stadium, the neighborhood will include a supermarket, Thomas Hooker Brewing Co.’s new brewery and restaurant, housing, retail, restaurants and office space. The project got six “yes” votes, zero “no” votes, and three abstentions.
Mayor Pedro Segarra’s office said final agreements are pending, but that new resolutions include a 30 percent revenue share for all ballpark events, a project labor agreement, hiring preference for Hartford residents, and for minority and women-owned contractors.
Oz Griebel, president and CEO of the MetroHartford Alliance, which supports the overall DoNo project, said Wednesday morning that he was pleased councilors included some of the business group’s suggestions in its resolution.
Griebel penned a letter to the council last month asking them to commit to growing the city’s grand list and reducing the mill rate over the next decade; to use a professional advisor to guide negotiations with the city’s development partner DoNo Hartford LLC; to acknowledge that the city should work with the Capital Regional Development Authority; and to get a head start on marketing sponsorships and ticket sales for the 2016 season.
Though councilors agreed to include some of that language, Griebel said the true economic value of the project won’t be known for a few years or more.
The test for Griebel, which he said city officials seem to agree with, is that the project must be a catalyst for additional private development in other parts of the city — specifically, investment that doesn’t need substantial public subsidies to make it financially viable.
That’s the only way to grow the grand list by any significant amount, which could in turn reduce the mill rate, he said.
“The proof will be in the tasting when you get to the budget cycles each year,” Griebel said.
