The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Housing, businesses at former campus
HARTFORD — A development group wants to build 500 units of housing, plus restaurants, retail, a grocery store and more, at the site of the former University of Connecticut campus, transforming the long-vacant property into what they’re calling Oakwood Park.
In plans plans provided by West Hartford’s town planner and others submitted last week to the town’s Planning and Zoning Commission seeking wetlands approval, the West Hartford 1 LLC development group said they are looking to build five multi-story residential buildings on the east side of Trout Brook Avenue and 12 mixed-use buildings on the west side of Trout Brook Avenue.
According to their website, the development group — which consists of Garden Homes, Newman Architects, BL Companies and the law firm of Alter & Pearson — said their plans “will harmonize with the growth happening throughout West Hartford and be designed appropriately for our unique site conditions and neighborhood,” in a quote attributed to Domenic Carpionato.
“Much has happened in the marketplace since West Hartford 1 purchased the campus property in January 2022,” the quote from Carpionato reads. “We believe we can provide a balanced blend of residential, health-related and retail uses that lend themselves to Oakwood Park’s small-scale village feel that will be more suitable to the former campus than previous proposals.”
The 58-acre property, which has been vacant since 2017 when UConn moved its campus to downtown Hartford, previously had been targeted to be developed into a technology village by the China-based company Ideanomics. Those plans fell through, though, and the property was put back on the market, leading to West Hartford 1’s purchase of the land.
According to submitted plans, most of the housing would be built on the east side of the property, with 380 one- and two-bedroom units planned across five five-story buildings.
On the west side of the property, where 12 structures would be built, developers are proposing 99 units of housing in two of those buildings. Four of the other buildings would house 21 townhouses, adding up to 500 units of housing across both sides of the property, all according to the submitted plans provided by the town.
The western side of the property is also where all of the mixed-use buildings would be, with housing mixed in with various retail uses, with spots available for restaurants, cafes, a medical office, a spa and a separate building for an organic grocery store. A parking garage would also be built on that side of the street.
Also according to the filed documents, the developers would create 1,900 parking spaces between both properties, which would accommodate both residents and guests visiting the property. On their website, the developers said in their initial design plans that 44 percent of the site is for public use and recreation, including open green space.
The developers also indicated that use of the baseball fields on the east side of the property will continue uninterrupted and plan to preserve the champion white oak tree. They also plan to connect to the town’s Trout Brook Trail, which is being extended even further in their direction along Trout Brook Road this summer.
West Hartford 1’s plans are fluid, though, and could change in scope and scale based on feedback they receive from the town’s various committees and commissions, as well as neighbors of the property they’ve been communicating with through their outreach program.
“Our discussions with West Hartford’s land use, planning, zoning and economic development authorities are continuing, and the input we have received from the town and through our engagement of the residents living closest to campus is helping us refine our plans so that they will be a positive addition to the neighborhood and harmonize with the amenities that make West Hartford such a vibrant community,” the development group said in a proWEST vided statement.
Continued West Hartford development
There has been no shortage of new housing developments in West Hartford, a town of over 63,000 people. Still, the town is continuously seeking new housing opportunities, including ones in its transit-oriented district on New Park Avenue and affordable housing-focused developments like the recently-opened Residences at 540 New Park.
Of those new developments, this transformation of a former college campus into a new neighborhood would likely be West Hartford’s biggest project since Blue Back Square was built. The proposal will eventually be put in front of different town leaders, elected officials and members of the public at hearings, should the project reach that stage.
Though there has been a recent increase in housing developments across town, none of the approved or finished projects have offered as many units as these proposed plans would. The partially finished transformation of a former convent on Park Road will boast 292 units once completed. The former Puritan Furniture site on New Britain Avenue would offer 150 units. And the redevelopment of the former Children’s Museum site will include 172 units of housing.
In fact, Oakwood Park in its current form would create so much housing that its 500 units would be nearly half of the approximately 1,050 units that 11 other housing developments in town have either already created, are currently building or are proposing to create.
Affordability, also, has become increasingly important in West Hartford. Town Manager Rick Ledwith has said in the past that the town would like to reach the mark of having 10 percent of the town’s housing stock be classified as “affordable.” And though the town hasn’t submitted its new affordable housing plan to the state yet, it’s expected to do that this year.
The town also has set aside $6 million of its American Rescue Plan Act funds as low-interest loans or grants to entice developers to build more affordable housing.
Representatives for the developers could not yet comment on how many of the planned units would be affordable housing.
The plan is expected to go in front of West Hartford’s Planning and Zoning Commission and Inland Wetlands and Watercourse Agency at its July meeting.