CT: Proposal for massive $200 million CT mixed-use redevelopment emerges: transit, housing, stores

Could it be the “Grand Central” of a Connecticut city?

A new push to demolish the vacant, decaying One Talcott Plaza office complex in downtown Hartford would lay the groundwork for a $200 million, mixed-use redevelopment anchored by regional bus transit center that would concentrate passenger route connections in the city all in one place.

The city of Hartford is seeking a $22 million state grant to finance the demolition of the office and parking garage, and In its application for those funds, the city boldly asserts the potential of the proposed transit center as the “Grand Central of Hartford County,” evoking the storied, transportation hub in New York City.

If the grant were secured and an approved redevelopment unfolds, the new hub for bus service — estimated to cost more than $100 million, exceeding more than price tag of the entire development — could open in late 2027.

The hub, which has drawn the strong support of the Connecticut Department of Transportation, would be part of a larger project including up to 400 apartments, underground parking, a park and storefront space of up to 40,000 square feet, possibly going to one large tenant.

Public financing would likely be involved in each component of the development, particularly federal funding for construction of the bus terminal.

What would emerge, Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam said, is a transit-oriented development where bus riders can easily make connections between different routes. That benefits Hartford residents — 40% of whom don’t own a car and depend heavily on bus service — as well as visitors and commuters who might chose to ride the bus if there were a centralized location to make connections between different routes.

Now, connections are made along major city thoroughfares such as Main Street, leading to congestion, particularly downtown. In addition, bus riders are not necessarily dropped off conveniently and may have too little time to traverse several blocks to make a connection to another bus route, Arulampalam said.

“It will be more like going to Union Station to take a train,” Arulampalam said. “It just offers a more dignified — and less stressful — riding experience.”

The development also offers the opportunity to fill in a high-profile gap in downtown between Capital Community College — the former G. Fox & Co. department store building — and the burgeoning North Crossing redevelopment around Dunkin’ Park, the city’s minor league ballpark and the city neighborhoods to the north.

Overall, there would be a boost to economic development and property tax dollars sorely needed by Hartford, city officials said.

There also is enough room on the 2-acre site for a residential or hotel tower in the future that would be separate from the current proposal.

But the state grant sought by the city for the demolition from the Community Investment Fund program is not assured, even with support lining up for the redevelopment.

The fund, which seeks to foster economic development in traditionally underserved communities, approves grants on a competitive basis. One major consideration is the “staying power” of the project or recipient and what it will be able to do for a community or region, years — or even decades — into the future.

Speaker of the House Matt Ritter, a Hartford Democrat, said he is familiar with the grant request. But Ritter, who co-chairs the CIF board of directors, said he — and state economic officials — still need to learn more about the redevelopment project, and what the other sources of funding coming into the project.

Ritter acknowledged that the $22.3 million grant request is on the higher end of requests that have been made since the program was launched in 2022.

“Hartford has not had a big request yet,” Ritter said. “I think we’re the only major city that really hasn’t had a big request yet. I’m happy that the city put this forward. I can’t say I know a ton about it, but any time we’re looking to bring big things to Hartford, it’s exciting.”

The redevelopment also would form a public-private partnership between the state and the property owners. The site is owned is owned by Hartford-based LAZ Investments, an arm of parking giant LAZ Parking, and Shelbourne Global Solutions LLC, of Brooklyn, N.Y., downtown Hartford’s largest commercial landlord.

The next round of grants is expected to be announced in March and would then have to clear the State Bond Commission. If the city were successful, tearing down could begin as soon as late summer, city officials said.

‘Logical step’

The idea for the bus transit hub has been percolating for more than a year as discussions between the city and the DOT heated up.

Hartford’s Union Station, Arulampalam said, did not have enough space to accommodate what is contemplated for the proposed bus transit center.

The bus terminal would dovetail with the goals of the recently-completed Greater Hartford Mobility Study. The study sought ways to improve all modes of transportation, including bus service. An overarching goal of the study was to better connect the region, plus reduce congestion and dependence on individual vehicles.

“This transit facility is a logical step to improve bus operations, as well as accommodations for riders and operators,” DOT commissioner Garrett T. Eucalitto said, in an email. “We look forward to continuing to work with CTtransit and city of Hartford to identify ways to improve bus services throughout the city and the region.”

The new hub would service directly or indirectly up to 46 municipalities and have the potential for the addition of new bus routes, according to the DOT.

The site for the hub — and the mixed-use development — has a topography that slopes sharply down to the east from Main Street to Market Street, along Talcott Street. Facing Main Street, there is a surface parking lot. The vacant office space sits atop the parking garage, at the corner of Market and Talcott streets.

The proposal calls for the retail space to front on Main Street with the apartments above and parking below. The transit hub would occupy the corner of Market and Talcott streets with a park area essentially on the roof of the transit center.

LAZ and Shelbourne have an agreement with the city that something must be done with the crumbling One Talcott Plaza by 2028 as part of a larger tax-fixing deal involving several Shelbourne properties in Hartford. According to the city, payment of property taxes on One Talcott Plaza is up-to-date.

Historic footbridge an issue

What to do with the deteriorating One Talcott Plaza has been a thorny issue for years.

The parking garage, then operated by LAZ, closed in 2014 because the structure was deemed unsafe, and the office space above has been empty even longer.

In 2015, the city considered taking control of the property and renovating for municipal office space, but the structure’s condition emerged as an obstacle. The concrete in the parking garage was designed for its original use as a warehouse and couldn’t stand up to the wear-and-tear of the weather.

Five years later, a study by the current owners found the complex wasn’t fit to be saved.

There also was another problem: a historic footbridge attached to One Talcott Plaza.

What is now the office and parking garage was built as a warehouse in the 1950s for the neighboring G. Fox department store and the neoclassical-style footbridge connected the two buildings.

Preservationists have long argued the bridge is an architectural gem and must be saved. The bridge is clad in copper with paneled pilasters, with a clock face on the second story and stepped parapet and is part of a historic district that once was Hartford’s department store row.

Dismantling and reusing the bridge — perhaps in the new development — is one alternative. But the Hartford Preservation Alliance has insisted a plan for reuse be in place so the pieces of the bridge are not stored away and forgotten about.

The bridge was included on the alliance’s list of most endangered properties in Hartford in 2020 and 2021.

“We have every intention of not just preserving a piece of architecture, a piece of our history but celebrating it, hopefully, as part of the new structure that will go up,” Jeff Auker, the city’s director of development services, said.

Public-private partnership

If the grant were approved and demolition takes place, LAZ Investments would be the lead developer on the project with Lexington Commercial, part of Harford-based Lexington Partners, a major downtown developer, focusing primarily on leasing, according to Jane Davey, director of asset management and acquisitions at LAZ Investments.

The new transit hub is expected to be financed, at least partially, by low-cost loans or grants through the federal government that seek to encourage transit-oriented development, Davey said.

“We will be pursuing every possible option we can for this unique public-private partnership,” Davey said. “This really could potentially be a model for other municipalities, other TOD developments and I think it would bring a lot of positive attention to Hartford.”

The transit hub would be built by LAZ and then leased to the state.

The sequencing of construction is yet to be determined, but it is possible that all components could be constructed at the same time, Davey said.

Davey said discussions for a single-use tenant for the retail space are active, but she declined to name a potential tenant or a use.

However, the size of retail space being discussed — 30,000 square feet to 40,000 square feet — is typical for a grocery store. But the state already allocated $8.5 million in 2018 for a grocery store initiative focused on downtown and city neighborhoods to the north.

“We’re not looking to build retail and have it be vacant,” Davey said, alluding other empty storefronts in the downtown area. “We’re looking to get this all planned ahead of time, and I think with the transit component there, there will be a whole new market for this type of tenant.”