Housing, restaurants included in proposals for barren, parking lot near The Bushnell

HARTFORD — The Capital Region Development Authority will start evaluating four proposals for a major redevelopment near The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts on the largest of a barren expanse of parking lots, a major building block to begin reconnecting Bushnell Park with city neighborhoods to the south.

Michael W. Freimuth, CRDA’S executive director, declined to identify the developers bidding to develop the 3-acre parking lot just east of the renovated State Office Building at 165 Capitol Ave. But he said the proposals for the Bushnell South area are similar, development costs ranging from $90 million to $130 million.

The proposals call for 250 to 350 units of housing, split between 80% market-rate and 20% affordable, 25,000 square feet of commercial space and various plans for parking garages. The development could be done in one chunk or be divided into phases. All the proposals would require public financing, such as loans or tax-fixing agreements, Freimuth said.

Two of the developers have been active in Hartford, the other two have not, Freimuth said. The developers are based in Connecticut, New York, Boston and North Carolina, with some operations in Fairfield County, Freimuth said.

Freimuth said the review of the proposals will not so much focus on the details of the proposals because they are similar, but finding a development partner that can be flexible as the development unfolds, particularly if market conditions change.

“Getting to a project and getting hung up on what it might look like and how many units (it is) and when it is started is important,” Freimuth said. “But the first hurdle is getting a partner in place. Look, the market is evolving, evolving all the time, whether it’s interest rates, construction costs or just design features.”

Freimuth said the proposals follow the vision outlined last year by a consultant. The plan called for as many as 1,200 residential units — both rented and owned — restaurants, shops and entertainment venues.

The first, 3 acres is part of a larger swath of parking lots — both state and privately-owned — and would include a broad, pedestrian promenade with restaurants and space for outdoor events. The promenade would be between a new park adjacent to the State Office Building and a block of apartments and townhouses.

The overall vision is to foster a stronger, walkable connection between Bushnell Park, the nearby hospital district and Park Street, extending beyond to Colt Park.

The proposal for the 3 acres calls for a construction timetable of 24 to 30 months, though it is not known when there would be a groundbreaking. A prime consideration also will be how quickly the hundreds of apartments being added to the downtown area are being occupied.