Hartford Mayor Pedro E. Segarra and other city and civic leaders are pressing for demolition of the long-vacant Capitol West office building to clear way for new development in midtown.
The Hartford Redevelopment Authority recently voted 4-1 to seize the property via eminent domain. A public hearing is set for April 18.
“Make no mistake, while some would have you believe that this project is too costly, the cost of inaction would be far greater and far more devastating in the long run,” Segarra said at a Monday news conference in front of the property at 1 Myrtle St.
Members of the city council, the MetroHartford Alliance, Hartford Business Improvement District and Greater Hartford Transit District were also present to pledge their support for razing the property.
The 170,000-square-foot Capitol West office building, which dates to the 1950s as a car dealership, is visible to commuters along I-84 for the missing glass in its windows and gouges to its fortress-like brick facade. The city recently completed demolition of one of its most notoriously decrepit structures — the old “Butt Ugly Building” at 1161 Main St.
Landlord Joshua Guttman, of Brooklyn, N.Y., and other investors in Myrtle Realty LLC, the property’s owner, vowed to oppose the city’s seizure efforts, claiming the taxes are current and that, despite its physical appearance, does not fit the city’s statutory definition of a blighted property.
Coleman Levy, the owner’s Farmington attorney, said Myrtle Realty plans to pursue all its rights to protect its property interest.
Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. is contributing $2 million so the city of Hartford can buy and raze the office building.
