Developers of a long-awaited apartment and retail community near the corner of Park and Main Streets in Hartford’s South End have started construction on the $26-million project.
Joined by Mayor Luke Bronin and other city and state leaders, developers Spinnaker Real Estate Partners, of Norwalk, and Hartford-based Freeman Cos., on Tuesday morning held a ground-breaking ceremony to commence work that is expected to be completed sometime in 2021.
The city has eyed redeveloping the 2.3-acre site, near the historic Barnard Park, for more than 30 years because it’s seen as a key gateway between the city’s South End neighborhood and downtown.
“This project has been long incoming, it’s been a priority for the community for decades, and it’s strategically an important parcel,” the mayor said at Tuesday’s ceremony. “It’s part of our broader strategic plan to focus on our commercial corridor, to reconnect our neighborhoods, and to provide both residential and commercial development to bring as much vitality and energy and feet on the street as possible.”
According to plans, the 126-unit complex will include two buildings on blighted, city-owned properties with approximately 90,000 square feet of residential space and 23,460 square feet of commercial space, officials say.
The infill development will feature 18 studios, 84 one-bedroom and 24 two-bedroom units; a 9,000-square-foot rooftop lounge; and a rear surface parking lot with 125 spaces.
A development agreement between the city and the developers ensures that 20% of the one- and two-bedroom units are reserved for low- to moderate-income earners.
The development will be funded by $16 million in bank financing and $8.4 million in loans from the quasi-public Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA). Other financing is expected to come from $1.6 million in equity and a deferred $900,000 developer fee.
The city originally selected Hartford nonprofit CIL to lead the redevelopment project.
But the city and the developer were unable to agree on a construction timeline and other financial terms, and the city in Aug. 2018 selected Spinnaker and Freeman Cos. to take over the project after a competitive bidding process.
This story has been updated
