🔒Robust pipeline of major developments could reshape East Hartford

After East Hartford bought the Church Corners Inn in downtown East Hartford early this year, workers found the 54-room boarding house infested with bedbugs, mice and other vermin.

Overrun with drug activity and violence, the property had seen more than 2,500 emergency calls to police and firefighters over five years, Mayor Michael Walsh told Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz outside the now-boarded up building Tuesday morning. There had been stabbings and shootings and gunshots through closed doors. Some tenants aggressively panhandled in the nearby Main Street – sometimes going so far to hop into cars stopped at traffic lights, Walsh said.

Now, in city hands, much of the century-old building is in such poor shape it will have to be demolished, Walsh said. But he hopes to see the façade recreated in a new development of 24 apartments.

Challenges facing the economically diverse, historically blue-collar town of East Hartford were not far from view Tuesday morning as Walsh toured two state representatives and a small clutch of journalists through several sites targeted for ambitious redevelopment projects.

The tour began at the Silver Lane Plaza, a 22-acre site where two of three deteriorating retail buildings stand empty amid cracked and pitted parking lots, then wound through several sites where retail, office and residential developments are planned on sites that haven’t seen investment in several decades.

Walsh took the opportunity to thank Bysiewicz; State Rep. Jeffrey Currey, D-11th District; and State Rep. Henry Genga, D-11th District for state support crucial to spurring private investment.

Bysiewicz said she has encouraged architects planning apartments in East Hartford, noting they will find a receptive partner in the state.

“The Governor has made building of thousands of new housing units a priority in the budget and especially if it was near public transportation, that would make it very attractive,” Bysiewicz said.

Silver Lane Plaza

East Hartford is tapping $10 million through the state-funded Capital Region Development Authority for the Silver Lane Plaza project. About $4.5 million went to the prior owner as part of the eminent domain taking completed early this year, Walsh said. The remainder will be used to demolish buildings and resettle about a dozen retail tenants hanging on in one of three buildings on the site.

The plaza is composed of two properties, 794-810 Silver Lane and 818-850 Silver Lane. They collectively host three retail buildings, of 107,148 square feet, 31,080 square feet and 18,562 square feet, according to town officials.

Walsh said the city has hired Colliers International to see if one of the smaller Silver Lane Plaza buildings is worth salvaging. Depending on the results, either two or three buildings on the site will be demolished beginning in June or July, he said.

After that, the town will start a search for developers using either a “request for proposals” or a “request for qualifications” process, Walsh said. He doesn’t have a particular vision in mind but is leaning against more apartments, given plans to build several hundred nearby.

Concourse Park

Around the corner from the plaza, Developers Avner Krohn of Jasko Development and Brian Zelman of Zelman Real Estate have secured local approvals needed for a complex of at least 300 apartments on a 25-acre site, which the town plans to hand over for $1. Walsh puts development costs at $120 million.

The project, dubbed Concourse Park, is planned as a market-rate complex featuring a heavy array of amenities, including a small movie theater, indoor party room, community garden, fitness center, pool and more.

Agreements with the town give Zelman and Krohn until Sept. 30 to finalize financing. That funding stack will include $7 million in low-interest financing through CRDA, Walsh noted.

This site, which once hosted a Showcase Cinemas, will yield $34 million in local taxes over the course of a 27-year tax agreement, Walsh said.

Founders Plaza

Tuesday’s tour included a stop at the roughly 50-year-old Founders Plaza office park along the Connecticut River, where developers are planning a grand mix of multifamily housing, retail and office development over roughly 40 acres, Walsh said.

Developers are waiting for a signed letter of intent and commitments from tenants before making a formal announcement, Walsh said. The area lies in a special development district, arming the town with the ability to offer tax increment financing, enterprise zone tax breaks and other incentives.

Walsh said the city is working to speed through changes in its plan of conservation and development to accommodate the expected development plan. He expects demolition of existing buildings to begin this summer and wrap up in fall. This would be paid through a $6 million request expected to go before the State Bond Commission in May, Walsh said.

Church Corners Inn

East Hartford paid $950,000 for the troublesome, 54-room boarding house in January, tapping $2.5 million granted by the State Bond Commission in December for the purchase and redevelopment. The dismantling of this property allowed the town to connect residents with better housing options, as well as social services, Walsh said. It will result in a better business climate for downtown merchants, he noted.

The town hopes to find a developer to build 24 apartments on the site, he said.

Rentschler Field Logistics

Walsh’s tour Tuesday drove past Rentschler Field, where Massachusetts-based National Development is currently working to build a 1.3 million-square-foot distribution center for Lowe's Home Improvement and a 1.2 million-square-foot distribution center for online home decor retailer Wayfair. It is, at present, the largest development underway in town, but Bysiewicz had just visited the site in March for a groundbreaking ceremony.

Walsh said the various developments will work in tandem to improve quality-of-life, business conditions and job prospects in his town of roughly 50,000.