As Hartford prepares to close the books on an eventful 2016, key leaders of the city’s economic-development and land-use departments say several positive indicators have emerged that signal encouraging improvements lie ahead for 2017.
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As Hartford prepares to close the books on an eventful 2016, key leaders of the city's economic-development and land-use departments say several positive indicators have emerged that signal encouraging improvements lie ahead for 2017.
Jamie Bratt, city director of planning and economic development, and Sean Fitzpatrick, its director of development services, laid out a few recently at a meeting of Business for Downtown Hartford at City Steam Brewery.
• Out-of-towners: Bratt said that in recent weeks she has met with investors from New York, New Jersey and Japan, who are eager to acquire Hartford properties. One, she said, has purchased 10 city apartment buildings this year alone because, she said he told her, he found Hartford's property market more affordable than markets in Manhattan and Boston.
Others, she said, are lured by the prospect of the spring opening of Dunkin' Donuts Park, more restaurant/entertainment venues and UConn's downtown campus, moving Hartford closer to being an 18-hour city.
Meantime, the cloud over redevelopment of the city's Downtown North (DoNo) quadrant by Centerplan and partners has prompted a flurry of developer inquiries, Bratt said, as to whether those parcels will be redistributed.
The city has not yet made a decision on DoNo's fate.
• More city/realty broker collaboration: To attract more outside investment, Bratt said her office has a goal to engage more with the local broker community, which, she says, can help spread the city's positive message about Hartford's downtown-development reset to potential investors.
• 525 Main St. for sale: Fitzpatrick said that the city in coming weeks will issue a “request for quote” (RFQ) for the city-owned building that is largely empty, except for some lingering city offices. The building, directly across from city hall, has drawn inquiries from a number of eager redevelopers, he said. “We're excited about the potential for that property,” Fitzpatrick said.
• Mobility/infrastructure improvements: Among the city's staffing upgrades this year was the addition of a traffic engineer, the result of which has been a noticeable reduction in the number of one-way streets downtown, Fitzpatrick said. The city, too, is working closely with the state transportation department about infrastructure improvements ahead of redesign and reconstruction of the I-84 viaduct.
– Gregory Seay
