UConn and Hartford’s Front Street developer have entered into a $630,000 pre-development contract that paves way for the former Hartford Times Building to become the new downtown campus for the flagship state university.
The contract with HB Nitkin Group, of Greenwich, was signed last week, but wasn’t made public until Wednesday following a perfunctory review by the state attorney general’s office, a UConn spokeswoman said.
“It formalizes our commitment” to relocating UConn’s West Hartford campus to Hartford, said UConn Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Richard Gray. “The site is a go.”
The contract details a six-month timetable for Nitkin, working with Manhattan’s Robert A.M. Stern Architects (RAMSA) and a half dozen other consultants, to create design proposals and any other relevant details related to the proposed site redevelopment.
UConn and Nitkin also will continue on a separate track toward executing a final development contract, officials said.
The clock began Tuesday, the day the AG’s office signed off on the pact, UConn officials said. That means a formal design scheme for the Times Building site could emerge on or after March 9, 2014, said UConn’s Master Planner and Chief Architect Laura Cruickshank.
“It’s an incredible architectural opportunity,” Cruickshank said, “to do something striking with the Hartford Times Building and incorporate it into the building fabric of the city of Hartford.”
Of the $630,000 budgeted in the contract, the bulk of it, or $325,250, is earmarked as RAMSA’s design fee. The rest is split among various civil, structural and traffic engineers. Nitkin’s project management fee during the period is $21,000.
Peter Christian, HB Nitkin’s development director, said the pact also puts the brakes on any potential sale of the Prospect Street property during the pre-development pact.
“We think UConn is a great addition for Front Street and Adriaen’s Landing,” Christian said. “It’s a great way to reuse that historic building.”
RAMSA had no immediate comment.
