‘Bushnell South’ development would add 1,000 residential units downtown
Group of parking lots could be transformed into a new neighborhood over a decade
HARTFORD — A bleak swath of parking lots around The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts in Hartford could be developed into a neighborhood of more than 1,000 residential units over the next decade, rivaling the construction of housing that is planned for another new neighborhood 2 miles away around Dunkin’ Donuts Park.
The scope of housing in the area — now being called “Bushnell South,” a shortened version of the initial “Bushnell Park South” — will be a significant component of a master plan that will be presented Wednesday to the public at The Bushnell. The new neighborhood is seen as a critical pedestrian connection between Bushnell Park and the hospital district, Park Street and Colt Park.
“It is a major development,” Suzanne M. Hopgood, chairwoman of the Capital Region Development Authority, said at the agency’s monthly board of directors meeting last Thursday. “The question that’s obvious is: We’ve seen a lot of plans go through the city, and why do we think this is going to go ahead?”
The groundwork is now in place, Hopgood said, in the roughly 20-acre stretch divided in half by Capitol Avenue
between Main Street on the east and Trinity and Washington streets on the west, just south of Bushnell Park.
Hopgood pointed to four significant projects in the area. First, there was the $205 million renovation of the 1930s State Office Building, completed early last year, with a new, landscaped park on its east side. Then, there is the construction of two parking garages, one on Buckingham Street for state employees and the other on Capitol Avenue, the latter the start of a “district parking” strategy. And within last month, financing — including $13.5 million in state taxpayer-backed loans — for a $63 million conversion of the former state office building at 55 Elm St. into apartments fell into place.
Michael W. Freimuth, CRDA’s executive director, said Bushnell South could unfold in four or more phases over five to seven years with the potential for up to 1,200 residential units. The number includes 161 units at 55 Elm on Pulaski Circle, which is at the northeastern corner of the Bushnell South area, Freimuth said.
North Crossing, the former Downtown North around the city’s minor league ballpark, could have up to 1,000 apartments in the next five or so years. The first phase of 270 apartments is now in construction.
How quickly the development unfolds — and to what extent — will depend on demand for housing in the city and the availability of public funding, seen as key to closing gaps left after private investment. Gov. Ned Lamont has infrequently called meetings of the State Bond Commission, which must approve borrowing funds to invest in projects like Bushnell South, part of his policy to cut down on state borrowing and debt.
Early signs seem to point to rental demand rebounding in downtown Hartford coming out of the pandemic. After a dip in occupancy, CRDA said its most recent monthly survey of nearly two dozen projects it has helped finance — accounting for about 1,600 apartments — all but two had occupancy of 90% or higher.
Developer interest also has been brisk for two historic buildings on Trinity Street being sold by the state that formerly housed state offices, including the secretary of the state. The buildings, which stand sideby-side at 18-20 and 30 Trinity St. near the corner of Elm Street and just north of The Bushnell, are part of Bushnell South, in its northwest corner. The buildings also have been mentioned as candidates for housing.
“There has been interest from multiple development firms, and we have conducted several tours so far that were all well attended,” Lora Rae Anderson, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Administrative Services, said Friday. “We’d expect this one to be competitive.”
Proposals are due in three weeks.
Preliminary versions of the Bushnell South plan that will be presented Wednesday have been shared this spring with groups in the adjoining Frog Hollow and South Downtown, or “SoDo,” neighborhoods.
Those early versions, developed by consultant Goody Clancy of Boston, paint an optimistic outlook for downtown housing, noting “demand is for predominantly multifamily residential development with ground-floor retail and commercial spaces in key locations.”
Goody Clancy also said “high quality” outdoor spaces would be vital and the area should form a connection to cultural attractions on Main Street.
The consultant’s report was commissioned last fall by a consortium of The Bushnell, CRDA and Spinnaker Real Estate Partners of South Norwalk. Spinnaker, now developing the corner of Park and Main streets in Hartford and soon to embark on 55 Elm, also has purchased three parking lots in Bushnell South.
Goody Clancy also analyzed how Spinnaker’s pieces would fit into the overall Bushnell South puzzle and if course corrections were needed because of the long-term changes that were expected from the pandemic.
In recent years, CRDA has gained control of some of the larger parking lots used by state office workers by overseeing a $16 million, state-financed parking garage on Capitol Avenue with 411 spaces. Some of those spaces would be used by state workers displaced from surface lots, with the garage also shared by future area residents and patrons of The Bushnell.
One critical parking lot encompassing about 2 acres at the corner of Capitol Avenue and Hudson Street is under option by Spinnaker, but a sale has not yet closed. Spinnaker also has an agreement with The Bushnell on that lot to become part owner and have a say in future development should a sale take place.
The presentation at The Bushnell begins at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the Belding Theater. It also will be livestreamed on BushnellYouTube.