🔒Owners propose demolishing vacant office building in West Hartford

The West Hartford Town Council has received an application proposing to demolish a nearly 2,400-square-foot, two-story office building on Albany Avenue. The application was filed on behalf of the owners, 2258 Albany Avenue LLC, by Glastonbury-based attorney Meghan Alter Hope. In a narrative letter included with the application, she states the proposal seeks to amend an existing special development district to allow it to not only demolish the existing building, but also to remove existing vegetation and regrade the entire 1.07 acres “for future development opportunity.” The building at 2558 Albany Ave. is located on the north side of Albany Avenue just west of the Staples shopping center. It is also bounded to the north by residential homes on Farmstead Lane. In the narrative letter, Hope states that the building has been vacant since 2005. “The owner engaged numerous (R)ealtors over the past 20 years; however, the Site has been a challenge to lease due to its reduced visibility from the road, restrictive site access, and the condition and antiquated layout of the building,” the narrative letter states. The letter notes that the existing building sits about 10 feet above Albany Avenue and contains just one curb cut. Since that section of Albany Avenue has a raised median separating east- and westbound traffic, vehicles leaving the site are restricted to entering from the east and leaving toward the west. The letter states that the plan is to lower the property’s elevation by about 15 feet, which will require removing about 19,000 cubic yards of material. The letter adds that the intent is to make the site “more attractive for redevelopment by (a) new user, thereby increasing the potential for reinvestment in this commercially zoned West Hartford property.” It also notes that once a new user is selected and plans for a new building are developed, “they will be required to file a new application with the Council” to again amend the special development district. The application does include a “preliminary conceptual plan” that illustrates a conceptual building of approximately 6,000 square feet with 24 parking spaces to the rear of the building. “Additionally,” it states, “a driveway connection could feasibly connect 2558 Albany Ave. to 2550 Albany Ave., based on the regrading proposal in the current application.” The narrative also states that while the building is more than 50 years old — it was erected in 1920 — a review by Heritage Consultants found that it is not eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. The Town Council will receive the application under new business during its regular meeting scheduled for Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in Room 314 in Town Hall.