Endangered historic properties
A look at the most endangered historic properties in Hartford
The Hartford Preservation Alliance highlights eight historic properties in the city that are facing an uncertain future.
In 2019, the new owner of the historic St. Augustine School in Hartford’s South End unfurled plans for a conversion into apartments and ready for tenants within months. Two years later, St. Augustine sits looking from the outside much the same as it did when it closed in 2016, except for the chain-link construction fence around it.
The Hartford Preservation Alliance’s growing concern about the school’s future landed it on the alliance’s annual list of most endangered historic properties in the city for 2021. The school, built in 1927 on Clifford Street in the Barry Square neighborhood, made the list not only for its Classical Revival architecture but its place as a neighborhood asset and center of community life.
This year’s list of eight properties is heavily weighted to the city’s neighborhoods, with just one downtown structure, the G. Fox & Co. footbridge. The properties include the gardener’s cottage at the former Colt Estate, part of a planned national historical park; the original factory that once housed the famed Austin Organ Co.; and a barn garage at the former Seavern Estate on Asylum Avenue.
“In our discussions, especially with the neighborhoods, we’re trying very much to make sure the neighborhoods are involved, so we are working with them and for them,” Mary E. Falvey, the alliance’s executive director, said. “I want people to realize that we have historic properties all throughout Hartford.”
Falvey praised the city’s “anti-blight” efforts, but urged the city to find new uses for city-owned properties included on this year’s list.
1. St. Augustine School
Falvey said she has become increasingly worried about St. Augustine. Hopes ran high, she said, when Aria Legacy Group of New Jersey acquired St. Augustine and St. Peter’s Church, school and convent in 2018 for redevelopment. But as of now, St. Augustine sits idle, Falvey said.
“He’s done some work, but now it’s left open,” Falvey said. “If you go by, most of the windows are just open. It makes zero sense. What’s the point of that? It’s open to the elements.”
Joe Novoseller, Aria’s managing principal, said plans for St. Augustine — 46 market-rate units — took longer than expected to complete as did removing
asbestos and finishing interior demolition. The pandemic also slowed the work last year, Novoseller said.
“So, we’re really ready to go now,” Novoseller said. “We’re hoping as soon as the weather breaks, to really get the shovel in the ground there and get it moving.”
But windows open in the middle of winter?
“There’s really nothing in it,” Novoseller said. “We’ve totally winterized it. There’s no water in the building, so rather than have people work to break in and hang out there, we decided to leave it like this. We don’t have any squatters living there,
and we haven’t seen any drug activity there because when we first took over, there were both of those.”
Novoseller said he expects work to resume in April or May, with six to nine months of construction. He could not immediately say how much the conversion would cost.
In addition to St. Augustine, the alliance’s list also includes:
2. G. Fox & Co. pedestrian bridge
Neighborhood: Downtown Address: 36-70 Talcott St. Historic District: Department Store National Historic District. Built: 1930
Owner: Shelbourne Global Solutions LLC
Architect: Abbot Merkt Co.
What the alliance said: “The copper-clad pedestrian bridge was built to connect the G. Fox & Co. department store to its warehouse building on Talcott Street and was listed on our 2020 Endangered Buildings List. Another hearing on this site is scheduled for the March 17 Historic Preservation Commission meeting. Given that this structure is a one-of-a-kind Hartford treasure, and its status as being a contributing resource to the historic district, it is imperative that the developers incorporate preservation of the bridge where it is current sited.”
3. Second Church of Christ, Scientist
Neighborhood: Frog Hollow Address: 129 Lafayette St.
Built: 1924-1929
Style: Classical and Georgian Revival
Owner: State of Connecticut Architect: William A. Boring and Issac A. Allen Jr.
What the alliance said: “The church was purchased by the state of Connecticut in 2007 with the intention of using it for archival storage for the adjacent Connecticut State Library and rehearsal space for the Hartford Symphony Orchestra. Plans and funding never appeared and, apart from serving as an emergency homeless shelter in 2009, the building has remained vacant. The state began the process of putting the building up for sale in early 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic halted this plan. Situated in what the early planning community would have identified as a “civic center,” further delays in finding a developer for the site could potentially result in its restoration being economically unfeasible.”
4. Austin Organ Co.
Neighborhood: Asylum Hill Address: 158 Woodland St. Historic District: Listed individually on the State Register of Historic Places
Built: 1899-1901
Style: Mill Construction
Owner: City of Hartford
What the alliance said: “Concerns for the fate of this building were heightened when a section of the east wall collapsed last year. Built by the nationally renowned Austin Organ Co, the building was sold in 1937 to the Windsor Shade Tobacco Co. Mill buildings like this are well-suited to adaptive reuse, and historic factories such as this could easily be transformed into a small business and entrepreneurial “incubator” to promote economic and job growth.” (The Austin Organ Co. continues operations at 156 Woodland St.)
5. 270 Albany Ave.
Neighborhood: Clay Arsenal Historic District: Clay Hill National Historic District
Built: Circa 1870
Style: Second Empire
Owner: City of Hartford
What the alliance said: “This former brewery and tavern was listed on our first Endangered Buildings List in 2015 and regrettably continues to languish on a major street. Allowing vacant and blighted buildings to remain, especially on this heavily traveled street, runs counter to the optimism and renewed vibrancy being created through the ongoing and future development of the Downtown North area and the completion of Albany Avenue Streetscape project. The alliance joins with the Clay Arsenal Revitalization Association in urging the city of Hartford to prioritize offering this property for sale to a developer who will restore it back into a contributing resource in one of our oldest historic neighborhoods.”
6. Colt carriage house, gardener’s cottage
Neighborhood: Sheldon Charter Oak
Address: 130 Wethersfield Ave. Historic District: Coltsville National Historic Landmark District
Built: circa 1890
Style: Queen Anne
Owner: City of Hartford
What the alliance said: “As part of the forthcoming Coltsville National Historical Park, these buildings will be important in helping us tell the story of the working men and women who were the prime agents in the development of Hartford as a commercial and industrial powerhouse. We have also included these buildings to highlight the importance that corporate, community and individual support will be in supporting and funding the Coltsville Heritage Partnership, a community-based nonprofit that will act as the “friends of” the national park and will be tasked with contributing to the funds that will be needed for the restoration and reuse of these structures.”
7. 96 Webster St.
Neighborhood: Barry Square Built: circa 1875
Style: Italianate Villa
Owner: AAAA Legal Services PC What the alliance said : “This example of an Italianate Villa house design reminds us that not all of Hartford’s affluent citizens lived on Asylum Hill in the late 19th century. The home was most likely built for George W. Fuller, who, at the age of 18, came to Hartford as a harnessmaker and later prospered in business as a trunk manufacturer. The Thomas F. Farley Funeral Home (later the Farley-Sullivan Funeral
Home) operated here from 1943 until 1996. (Many of urban Victorian-era residences remain standing today because of their reuse as funeral homes.) Now vacant for many years, this property would better serve the Barry Square neighborhood being occupied, whether as residential units or mixed use with offices.”
8. Seavern Estate, Barn Garage
Neighborhood: West End Address: 1365 Asylum Ave.
Built: 1917
Owner: University of Hartford Architect: Philip Lippincott Goodwin
What the alliance said: “These early “automobile houses” for large estates were influenced by the designs of earlier carriage houses, including having an apartment for a chauffeur. (The Seavern Estate later became the Hartford College for Women and is now owned by the University of Hartford. The university is now seeking to sell the property.) Sadly, Hartford continues to lose these outbuildings through unpermitted and unapproved demolition. Often old carriage barns and early garages suffer from deferred maintenance and demolition by neglect. In addition to documenting the history of our streets and neighborhoods, these buildings can be repurposed as auxiliary residential units, studios, and home offices.”
Gov. Ned Lamont is continuing to roll back restrictions on gatherings and businesses as the coronavirus pandemic wanes in Connecticut, saying he is “cautiously confident” that the state is continuing to head in the right direction as COVID-19 cases decline and vaccinations rise with spring approaching.
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The big story
Lamont begins further easing of COVID-19 restrictions: With Connecticut’s coronavirus test positivity rate continuing to decline and hospitalizations also dropping, Lamont has moved to further ease restrictions on gatherings and events. Beginning March 19, weddings and other social events of up to 100 people indoors and up to 200 people outdoors will be permitted. Youth athletic events will be allowed to have spectators at 25% capacity, with a 200-person cap. Other restrictions are expected to be eased further in the coming weeks and months, but Lamont has so far declined to offer a timeline. “I’m feeling more and more confident — cautiously confident — that we can continue to cautiously reopen,” the governor said at a recent press briefing. On Friday, the state reported a 2.58% test positivity rate and 33 fewer COVID-19 hospitalizations for a total of 535 statewide. That number had hovered around 1,250 in mid-December during the height of the state’s second wave of infections. Hospitalizations peaked at just under 2,000 in mid-April during the first surge. While Lamont has begun to move to reopen more of the state’s economy, some health experts warn that moving too fast could derail the progress the state has made in fighting the virus, particularly with the looming threat of more infectious coronavirus variants taking hold here.
Five things you may have missed
Teachers will be vaccinated at same time as other essential workers: Connecticut’s K-12 teachers will be vaccinated in the next wave of inoculations alongside other frontline essential workers, Lamont said this past week. “I’m not sure you move grandma to the back of the line so you can move [teachers] forward,” he told The Courant’s editorial board. Teacher unions had been pushing for their members to be moved to the front of the line, or, alternatively, to dedicate a certain percentage of vaccines each week for educators. At a news conference before Lamont’s comments, Don Williams, executive director of the Connecticut Education Association, said vaccinating school staff can help keep buildings open for in-person classes. “When we vaccinate schoolteachers and staff, we reduce school closures, and the disruption it causes for students and their families,” he said. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said teacher vaccinations should not be a prerequisite to school reopenings.
Community college deficits increase as enrollment declines:
Enrollment at Connecticut’s community colleges has dropped off by more than 15%, contributing to an increase in the projected deficit for the dozen schools from $16 million in the fall to $22 million now, officials said Thursday. Administrators had initially thought the coronavirus-weakened economy would encourage more students to enroll in community college, but the opposite has happened, particularly among part-time students. Ben Barnes, chief financial officer for the Connecticut State Colleges and
Universities system that oversees the community colleges and four regional state universities, said during a meeting Thursday that it would be a challenge to return to prior enrollment levels and suggested additional investment in that area. Lamont’s recently proposed two-year budget does not include additional state aid for public colleges and universities, instead relying on $40 million in federal higher education relief money the state has received.
$250K to protect Capitol for protests that didn’t materialize: Nearly $250,000 in state police overtime and National Guard staffing costs were racked up as police and soldiers moved to protect the Capitol in Hartford last month for protests that never materialized. The Connecticut State Police logged 2,015.25 overtime hours at a cost of $124,744.68, Brian Foley, a state police spokesman, told The Connecticut Mirror. The Connecticut National Guard spent four days at the Capitol and other sites, with 128 soldiers and airmen on duty for a total cost of $122,861. Police across the country braced for protests by pro-Trump supporters ahead of President Joe Biden’s inauguration after the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, but, at least in Hartford, reporters and photographers outnumbered the handful of people who showed up. “We believe what we were doing was appropriate based on the intel we had,” Foley said last month of the police show of force.
Vaccine hearing ends after 24 hours over GOP objections: Republicans on the legislature’s public health committee accused Democrats of shutting down debate after they moved to adjourn a 24-hour, online public hearing on controversial vaccine legislation before nearly 1,700 people who had signed up to speak were allowed to testify. The hearing was dominated by those opposed to legislation that would eliminate the state’s religious exemption to otherwise required vaccines for schoolchildren. Hundreds of parents, and many Republican lawmakers, view it as an example of government overreach and say families should be able to make their own decisions about vaccinations. Lawmakers turned their attention to the issue after a national measles outbreak in 2019 that included a handful of cases in Connecticut. State data at the time showed a significant increase in religious exemptions and that more than 100 schools had vaccination levels below recommendations from public health experts.
Bottle deposit fee could rise to 10 cents in move to boost redemption: With more and more bottles and cans ending up in the trash, lawmakers are considering doubling the state’s bottle deposit fee from 5 cents to 10 cents to encourage more people to return their empty drinking vessels. “We’ve got to do a better job of recycling, and I think what [House Speaker] Matt [Ritter] is talking about with the bottle bill is a good start,” Lamont said recently. The 5 cent deposit has been around for 40 years, and officials say just 50% of containers in Connecticut are returned. The others end up in single-stream recycling, in the trash or as litter. A higher fee, Ritter and others argue, would give people more incentive to redeem the containers and receive back the upfront fee they pay. “And if we don’t get glass out of our singlestream recycling, the tipping fees are just going to continue going up,” Ritter said.
Odds and ends
Robert Clark, who left the Superior Court in January 2019 to join Lamont in the governor’s office as his top legal adviser, has been nominated by Lamont to fill a vacancy on the state Appellate Court. “I am proud to nominate him to the Appellate Court because I am certain that he will serve with the same high level of competence, integrity and wisdom that he has consistently demonstrated throughout his career,” Lamont said Wednesday. … Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., has been named chair of a Senate subcommittee focused on consumer protection issues. “Consumers need vigorous voices and champions now more than ever,” said Blumenthal, who made consumer protection a focus during his career as state attorney general. “I am honored to serve as chair of the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and continue fighting — as I have in the past — to protect Americans from fraud and abuse,” he said. … Bobby Valentine, the former MLB manager who now oversees athletics at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, is weighing a potential mayoral run in his hometown of Stamford. “It is an election year for some of the situations in our city, in our state — and I have given it consideration, and I’m still considering it,” Valentine said Thursday, according to a report in Hearst Connecticut Media. “Let me put it that way.” A Valentine friend told Hearst if he did run he would do so as an unaffiliated candidate. … State Rep. J.P. Sredzinski, a Republican, has resigned from his House seat representing Monroe and Newtown after three terms. “I have come to the conclusion that this is the right decision for me and my family for many reasons,” he wrote in a resignation letter to Secretary of the State Denise Merrill. Sredzinski said he wanted to devote more time to his family and to his job; he was recently promoted to be the head of Stratford’s 911 dispatch center. … Ex-State Rep. Chris Davis, R-Ellington, has landed a job as a lobbyist with the Connecticut Lottery Corp. after he declined to seek reelection in November. Davis will be paid $85,859 annually, according to state payroll records, a significant boost from what he earned during five terms in the General Assembly. While a lawmaker, Davis was also a real estate agent and an adjunct professor of political science. The news was first reported by Courant columnist Kevin Rennie.