This week culminates Hartford Business Journal’s five-week summer series taking a look at Hartford’s future, and it’s clear the Capital City has a lot going for it.
The addition of about 1,000 apartment units, UConn’s move to downtown, and the arrival of 3,000 state employees to the central business district will do for the Hartford what Adriaen’s Landing only partially succeeded in: Bringing more people to live and work here.
The key to Hartford’s revitalization efforts is not strictly in brick-and-mortar development but creating an environment where people want spend time and money, and where employers want to invest capital and grow their company.
The build-it-and-they-will-come mentality is often fraught with risk, but there is a shared sense of optimism among Hartford boosters that the city is moving in the right direction. Most importantly, the city’s economic development efforts are catering to groups — mainly Millennials and empty-nesters — that actually want to live in an urban environment. The addition of new apartments and entertainment and restaurant venues — Infinity Hall, Spotlight Theaters, Nixs Hartford, etc. — along with making the city a more walkable, pedestrian-friendly place is smart planning.
Still, for Hartford to raise its game to the next level, several significant challenges must be confronted. While it’s nice to fawn on positive developments, it’s equally as important to point out weaknesses that could sidetrack future progress.
Key issues the city still faces:
Tax rate
The MetroHartford Alliance has beat this drum for years, but until Hartford finds an agreeable solution to dissolve its bifurcated property tax system that assesses commercial property owners at a much higher rate than residential owners, it will be difficult to attract private investment. With a mill rate currently over 70, it’s tough for Hartford to compete for new development and businesses without government subsidies. Eventually, the government trough will run dry, and the city will need to stand on its own.
Achievement gap
You can’t reduce the city’s high poverty rate (currently in the 30 percent range) without an educated citizenry. Closing Hartford’s achievement gap will need to continue to be a top priority. The business community must stay engaged in this effort as the quality of the future workforce depends on it.
Jobs
People will only live downtown if they can find a well-paying job in the city; maintaining Hartford’s current employment base won’t be enough. Hartford needs to attract new businesses, particularly small and midsize companies with strong growth prospects. The city needs to be a place that welcomes entrepreneurs and provides the resources (not necessarily financial) to help them grow their businesses. This will only be possible if the property tax rate is brought under control, giving businesses more confidence to invest capital here.
City finances
Much like the state, Hartford has faced numerous budget deficits in recent years, creating an environment that breeds business uncertainty. Budget cuts have provided short-term fixes, but the city needs to grow its grand list long-term to ensure a proper level of services can be provided to residents and businesses.
Marketing the city
Hartford has a lot of positive projects underway, yet there still is the perception among suburbanites that the city is unsafe, or lacks leisure activities to make a visit worthwhile. The current “Hartford Has It” campaign is a good concept, but the message needs to resonate beyond people who already support the city. Hartford must do more to reach the constituencies it’s trying to attract, particularly Millennials.
Divisive politics
For Hartford to succeed there must be a strong city-state partnership. Both governments, however, do not always see eye-to-eye, and turf wars over who controls the city’s economic development agenda do exist. The state controls the purse strings, so the quicker the two sides can act in concert with a shared vision, the better Hartford will be.
