A Camden, New Jersey-based housing developer and investor has received a selection committee endorsement to build a mixed-use development worth tens-of-millions of dollars on a 2.8-acre parking lot south of Hartford’s Bushnell Park.
A committee that included Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin, along with staff and board members from the Capital Region Development Authority, endorsed The Michaels Organization – a company operating housing in 35 states – ahead of three other companies seeking the right to build on a vacant parking lot at 165 Capitol Ave.
That endorsement is set to be presented to the larger CRDA board Thursday. Attempts to reach a CRDA representative Wednesday morning were not immediately successful.
The four applicants responded to a request-for-qualifications in June, seeking a chance to build a portion of a 12-acre redevelopment zone in the blocks south of Bushnell Park. A master plan for the larger redevelopment zone envisions new housing for up to 1,800 residents, along with restaurants, retail, arts and entertainment venues.
The proposals submitted for 165 Capitol Ave. each included about 300 units of multifamily housing and roughly 25,000 square feet of retail space, with estimated costs ranging from $90 million to $130 million, CRDA Executive Director Michael Freimuth said in June. Those plans are not set in stone, however, Freimuth said at the time. More important was the vision and capabilities of the applicants, he said.
Two of the applicants are well-known to the city, having built or renovated hundreds of units of multifamily housing in Hartford. These include Spectra, an offshoot of New York-based Wonder Works Construction, and Norwalk-based Spinnaker Real Estate Partners.
The fourth applicant was Charlotte-based builder LCM, which has subsequently rebranded to Quarterra Multifamily.
After interviews and follow-up presentations, the selection committee ranked Michaels with 12.45 points, closely followed by LCM with 12.275 points, trailed by Spinnaker with 10.025 points and then Spectra/Wonder Works with 9.35 points.
According to its website, Michaels operates about 60,000 units of housing in more than 425 communities in 35 states, along with Washington, D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The company says it has built more than 55,000 units of housing.
In Connecticut, Michaels manages four affordable housing communities with a combined 359 units in Meriden and New Haven, according to its website.Â
