An ambitious plan mixing upwards of 1,000 apartments and condos with retail and amenities along the Connecticut River in East Hartford has gained fresh momentum with the recent acquisition of the last privately held properties needed for the 28-acre project.
The “Port Eastside” development partnership, last week, acquired a 5.7-acre parking lot at 321 Pitkin St. for $1.75 million. That came days after the partnership finalized an uncontested foreclosure on a 19-story, 270,106-square-foot office tower at 111 Founders Plaza.
The partnership had earlier acquired a mortgage note on the office tower — with a $17.49 million balance — from M&T Bank. The plan is to convert the building into 240 residential units, possibly with retail space on the first floor.
“We have just cleared the most significant milestone in this project’s early lifespan to date,” said Bruce Simons, principal of Simons Real Estate Group in West Hartford. “With the acquisition of the parcel at 321 Pitkin St., we can now say that the four key building blocks that will make up the Port Eastside project are now under our control and ownership.”
Altogether, the Port Eastside development will blend 1,000 housing units — mostly apartments and a “small number” of condos — with a transportation center, 6.1-acre greenway and 400,000 square feet of entertainment, restaurant and retail space, according to a statement released by Port Eastside LLC.
The office tower and parking lot are the latest of four acquisitions for the project.
Last summer, Port Eastside paid $4 million for the 182,890-square-foot former Bank of America office building on 7.34 acres at 20 Hartland St., also known as 99 Founders Plaza.
This summer, the partners paid $7 million for a vacant, 70,350-square-foot “flex” office building on 6.5 acres at 300 East River Drive. Connecticut Children’s Medical Center has signed a long-term lease of the building for use as a distribution hub. Excess land on that property will be incorporated into the larger development.
The partners are still working with the town of East Hartford to close and incorporate a stretch of East River Drive into the development. This will allow direct access to the riverfront near Great River Park.
East Hartford Mayor Connor Martin praised the latest acquisitions as signs of progress. He stressed the developers are closely collaborating with the town.
“They have been great to work with,” Martin said. “They are obviously just committed to this and I couldn’t be more grateful to be working with these guys.”
The Port Eastside team includes Bruce Simons and his brother, Harris, as well as Manafort Brothers Inc. President Jim Manafort; Peter S. Roisman, head of Houston-based proptech company, REV Leasing; Nicholas Michnevitz III, president of West Hartford-based MBH Architecture; Hoffman Auto Group Co-Chairman Jeffrey S. Hoffman; Chris Reilly, president of Hartford-based Lexington Partners; and Alan Lazowski, chairman and founder of LAZ Parking.
Harris Simons, who is also a principal at Simons Real Estate Group, said the group is in “very early stages” of a development that seeks to complement cultural, entertainment, recreational and retail offerings that can be found on the edge of downtown Hartford, just across the river.
“Now we can turn our attention to implementing the phases of what will be a multi-year permitting and development process,” he said.
The first tangible signs of the redevelopment will begin with the demolition of the former Bank of America office building at 99 Founders Plaza and a parking garage attached to the office tower. East Hartford officials are contributing $6.5 million in state bond funds to the demolition, which is expected to move forward in the first quarter of 2025.
In return, Port Eastside has pledged to secure permits for construction of a building with at least 150 apartments within four years of the first disbursement of grant money.
A representative of the development team, earlier this year, told East Hartford officials that, while his team could only commit to 150 units in the first new building due to an uncertain financing climate, it is aiming for closer to 300.