Demolition of the vacant Burritt bank complex in downtown New Britain is slated to start today, as developer Avner Krohn moves forward with plans to eventually construct a six-story mixed-use apartment building at the site.
While some preliminary demolition work has already taken place, the project’s ceremonial kickoff will come Wednesday morning, with a gathering of city leaders outside the two connected commercial buildings at 267 and 277 Main St.
One of the buildings housed the former Burritt Interfinancial Bancorporation, which was seized and shut down by banking regulators in 1992. It had sat empty ever since, one of many vacant eyesores in the downtown area that economic development officials have been looking to either rehabilitate or clear away for something new.
Krohn, principal of Jasko Development, secured a tax assessment modification agreement for the properties in February and laid out plans to raze both the old bank headquarters and an unused retail space next-door, as their existing configuration would not easily lend itself to the construction of new housing units. In their place will stand “The Brit,” a market-rate apartment complex expected to be completed sometime early next year.
According to Krohn, “The Brit” will include 107 apartment units and 5,600 square feet of ground-floor retail space that will house one or two restaurants. Aimed mainly at renters in their 20s and early 30s, the building will feature extensive outdoor spaces, with gardens and street art murals on exterior walls, he said, in addition to a fifth-floor outdoor area for tenants that will overlook Main Street.
“It will be an urban oasis in the epicenter of downtown,” Krohn said.
The building is also expected to benefit from its proximity to a CTfastrak station, and from investments the city has made in making the downtown more walkable, Krohn added.
“This is definitely a transit-oriented development,” he said. “Downtown New Britain has a lot of access points, and that makes it very convenient for people looking to live here.”
