On his last full weekday on the job, outgoing Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin shared a 103-page playbook outlining past initiatives, ongoing challenges and policy recommendations for his successor.
Bronin released the collection of “transition reports” on the city’s website Friday morning and handed a binder of them directly to his successor, Arunan Arulampalam, during a press conference Friday morning.
The report, complete with recommendations, focuses on finance, public safety, gun violence, housing and economic development, housing quality and blight, youth and young adults, small business support, health, arts and culture, sustainability and improvement of government processes.
During the press conference, Bronin highlighted the nonstop effort to improve the city, having just signed that morning signed a purchase-and-sale agreement for 128 Westland St. The Citadel of Love church and Mutual Housing Association of Greater Hartford aim to use the site for a mixed-use development of 65 apartments and 15,000 square feet of commercial space.
Bronin described the moment as “bittersweet.”
“I love this job,” Bronin said. “I love this city. I will miss this job and I’ll miss the team that I get to work with every day, immensely. But to everything there is a season, and its time. And I feel really confident about the city’s direction and about the leadership that’s coming in.”
Bronin was an early supporter of Arulampalam, who he had previously appointed to head the city’s land bank.
Arulampalam thanked Bronin, crediting him as one of hundreds of dedicated city employees who have “poured their hearts and souls and love and dedication into this city.”
The report opens with a recounting of the historic budget crisis that confronted Bronin as his first term began in 2016, and the drastic actions required to get it under control, including deep cuts to staffing and services, as well as a state bailout. While the city is in a better economic situation, the playbook recommends Arulampalam’s administration keep stringent budget controls in place.
Economic Development
Bronin’s binder lumps housing and economic development together, fitting for an administration that had focused heavily on housing development as an economic driver.
The binder notes increasing market-rate and affordable housing will be a “critical” priority for the city’s recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting shift to hybrid and remote work. The report notes several key achievements, including:
- 1, 389 units of affordable housing rehabbed between 2016 and 2023, with efforts underway to rehab another 675.
- 950 new affordable housing units between 2016 and 2023, with 575 more in the construction pipeline.
- 3,300-plus maket-rate apartments built in the past 11 years, with an occupancy rate of 95% at present, with 1,350 more either in underwriting or planning.
- 185 home purchases were facilitated with the city’s downpayment assistance program, of up to $40,000, over the past eight years.
- $1.25 million was recently set aside to pay up to $10,000 for the downpayment on a Hartford home for city employees.
Bronin’s transition binder recommends Arulampalam’s administration pursue housing developments “wherever possible,” while continuing to build “critical mass” downtown, including through conversion of commercial buildings where viable.
“Aggressively pursuing the goal of adding 5,000 more units in and around the central business district is vital to the city’s future economic health and viability in the wake of the shift to remote and hybrid work,” reads a portion of the document.
Bronin’s proposal also urges continued pushes for mixed-income redevelopment around the Arrowhead Gateway, by Albany Avenue and Main Street; development of a comprehensive redevelopment plan for the Homestead Avenue corridor and continued investments in homeownership subsidies.
Bronin strongly recommends continuation of the Hart Lift grand program, which subsidizes up to $150,000 for renovation costs to outfit first-floor spaces for new retail and restaurant ventures. Launched with $6 million from Hartford’s federal COVID-relief allocation in 2021, the program has approved funding for 62 new ventures, which has led to the use of 225,000-square-feet of commercial space and supported creation of hundreds of jobs, according to the report.
Bronin has fed additional millions into the program without much fanfare, beefing it up to beyond $10 million. His document urges continued support for the program, perhaps with the use of a portion of future city budget surpluses.
The transition documents also place a premium on the support of arts and culture as an economic driver.
Bronin recently announced the launch of a $300,000 marketing campaign, launching in early 2024, that will focus heavily on the city’s arts and culture offerings.
Bronin’s administration directed another $300,000 in federal COVID-19 relief funds to help the struggling Artists Collective organization hire an executive director and accountant. It also directed roughly $4 million more to fund art installations and programs through the Hartford Creates program. Bronin’s transition document recommends continued support for artists and an expansion of the city’s calendar of events.
The full report can be found on the city’s homepage at Hartfordct.gov.
