What’s Rising In Hartford

The newest wave of construction, sprinkled heavily throughout Hartford’s downtown and beginning a slow march into its neighborhoods, may be less dramatic to the naked eye than the towering skyscrapers erected more than a decade ago. But the projects have the power to reshape Hartford in a way that promises to position it for growth in an era when cities nationwide are flourishing.

1 Downtown North:

For 50 years, redevelopment has eluded the 13 acres at the northern tip of Hartford's downtown. The area was severed from the city's central business district by the construction of I-84 in the 1960s, its legacy a jumble of parking lots and overgrown, vacant land. A firm plan to overhaul the neighborhood didn't take shape until 2014, when city leaders greenlighted a $300 million project that included housing, office space, retail and a minor league baseball stadium. But that effort collapsed after the developer missed two key deadlines to complete the ballpark. The city fired the builder, and another firm finished work on the stadium. Now, despite a lawsuit, the city is moving ahead with a new plan for the area. Officials chose Stamford-based RMS Companies to erect 800 apartments, 60,000 square feet of retail and a series of parking structures on the parcels. A contract is being negotiated, and work could begin as early as spring 2019.

Address: Parcel A: 2.99 acres along High and Ann Uccello streets; Parcel B: 3.78 acres along Main and Chapel Streets; Parcel C: 3.38 acres at 1212 Main St.; and Parcel D: 2.95 acres at 150 Windsor St.

Estimated Cost: Over $200 million

2 Spectra Apartments On Pearl:

Two long vacant but prominently located office buildings in the heart of downtown Hartford will be converted into 258 market-rate rentals, the majority of them studio apartments. New York firms Girona Ventures and Wonder Works Construction and Development Corp. hope to begin leasing the units in spring 2019. The developers are targeting young professionals with the smaller apartments and ample amenities.

Address: 101 and 111 Pearl St.

Estimated Cost: $50 million

3 Swift Factory:

The long-anticipated redevelopment of the M. Swift & Sons gold-leafing factory is now underway in the city's Northeast neighborhood. The renovation of the decaying factory, vacant for more than a decade, is aimed at providing jobs to area residents beginning at an entry level. Tenants will include a commissary for Bears Smokehouse, an indoor hydroponics farm specializing in leafy vegetables, a food business incubator and shared office space. Construction is expected to be complete in late 2019. The part-publicly funded project is headed by Community Solutions, a nonprofit founded by West Hartford native Rosanne Haggerty.

Address: 30-60 Love Lane

Estimated Cost: $34 million

4 Park and Main:

The city of Hartford changed course on this key project in August, naming a new developer, Spinnaker Real Estate Partners of Norwalk. Spinnaker was one of two bidders earlier in the year. The city initially picked CIL, a Hartford-based nonprofit, to pursue a mixed-use redevelopment on two parcels at the intersection, but the two sides could not agree on a timetable. Long a vacant eyesore, the site is seen as a crucial gateway to downtown and increasingly, a pe- destrian connection between Bushnell and Colt parks. Spinnaker has not disclosed details of its plan, but said it would feature a mixed-use development.

Address: 131 and 135 Main St.

Estimated Cost: $26 million

5 New Train Station: 5

When it was built in the late 19th Century, the Richardsonian Romanesque design of Hartford's train station was meant to convey its prominence as a transportation center. The use of Union Station would shift away from rail if a massive reconstruction of I-84 through the city is started in the next decade. The rail would move to the west as the highway is lowered, creating a new train and bus station on Asylum Hill. One proposal calls for the old elevated rail line to be converted for use by the CTfastrak busway and a pedestrian walkway patterned after the High-Line in New York City.

Address: 1 Union Place

Estimated Cost: No price tag disclosed

6 Albany Avenue Streetscape:

After decades of stops and starts, work began in earnest last year on an overhaul of the Albany Avenue corridor. The project features updates to 20 traffic signals, the addition of curb extensions and landscaping and lighting improvements. The avenue will be redesigned to include a through lane and a turn lane in each direction, and some of its cross streets will be realigned. Ten bus shelters, 430 trees and 330 streetlights will be added. Work is expected to be complete in fall 2019, and will be funded by state and federal money. The city contributed $1 million for design and engineering.

Address: Albany Avenue from Homestead Avenue to Bedford Street

Estimated Cost: $30 million

7 Parkville Market:

Carlos Mouta, the force behind some of the most prominent development in Hartford's Parkville neighborhood, has lofty plans for a ramshackle property on Park Street. He wants to convert the 20,000-square-foot structure, now graffitied and mostly empty, into an elaborate food market that blends flavors and cultures representative of the city. The first floor would feature more than 20 food vendors, and the second level would be a mix of other retail – a coffee shop, a bar or distillery, and merchants selling flowers, jewelry and stationery. Mouta is aiming for a spring 2019 opening.

Address: 1400 Park St.

Estimated Cost: $3.5 million

8 Dillon Stadium:

The derelict stadium at the southern edge of Colt Park has been an emblem of immense pride and stinging embarrassment for the city. Built in 1935, Dillon Stadium was home to some of Hartford's most celebrated pastimes: Concerts by The Rolling Stones and The Grateful Dead, and games played by the Hartford Bicentennials soccer team. But the stadium was also tainted by corruption. In 2015, The Courant exposed the financial mismanagement and theft of public funds by two developers who planned to upgrade the facility and lure a professional team to Hartford. The project was scuttled, the developers were sentenced to federal prison and two city officials lost their jobs. Now, state and local leaders are taking another run at upgrading the stadium, with state funds underpinning the effort. Demolition began this summer, and construction is expected to conclude in April or May. A professional soccer team, led by Hartford Sports Group, will begin playing there in the spring.

Address: 250 Huyshope Ave.

Estimated Cost: $13 million