Rhode Island development exec is key player in West Hartford UConn campus redevelopment

A top executive at a Rhode Island real estate development company has emerged as a key player in the redevelopment of UConn’s former satellite campus in West Hartford, the Hartford Business Journal has confirmed. 

Domenic Carpionato has been named project manager for the ownership group that is heading the highly-anticipated and closely-watched project, officials confirmed. 
 
He is the senior vice president of Carpionato Group, the firm currently developing the Avon Village Center project, a major office, retail and residential development in the heart of Avon that debuted its first phase — anchored by a 44,000-square-foot Whole Foods — late last summer.
 
Carpionato Group is not the buyer or developer of the West Hartford property, officials said, but Domenic Carpionato will play a key role in any redevelopment efforts, although there are currently no plans for the property. 
 

UConn’s former West Hartford campus, which years ago was purchased by a fintech company that planned to establish a major tech campus there but later abandoned the plans, was purchased late last year for $2.75 million by West Hartford 1 LLC.
 
It’s still not clear who the principals are of West Hartford 1 LLC. They have chosen not to publicly reveal themselves so far as they do due diligence on the property. The limited liability company is registered in Delaware, not Connecticut, which makes it more difficult to identify who controls the company. 

HBJ, through sources and other reporting, identified Domenic Carpionato as being involved in the project, and the ownership group confirmed it. 

In a statement, West Hartford 1 LLC said: “We are presently working to develop a vision that is befitting the size, scale and superb potential of this property and preparing our first steps to engage our West Hartford neighbors, key community organizations and town officials.” 
 
The 58-acre property at 1700 and 1800 Asylum Ave. was put up for sale in 2020 after Ideanomics pulled out of a planned  $400-million development for the site. 

Brokers involved in the sale previously told HBJ that the property was ideally suited for multifamily, medical office, retail, recreational and/or open space use for the community.

Ideanomics acquired the former UConn property in late 2018 for $5.2 million.

A property listing said the Asylum Avenue site was the largest to come to market in West Hartford in the last two decades. At the time of the listing it housed four buildings totaling 157,662 square feet that were previously used as academic buildings by UConn.