North End eyes market project
Salvation Army building could model Parkville’s success
A plan percolating in Hartford’s North End could transform part of a prominent building on Homestead Avenue into a market with rented space for entrepreneurs, the same structure that was considered last year for a shelter for people experiencing homelessness.
The market — patterned after the city’s Parkville Market and even more so after Philadelphia’s Reading Terminal Market — could be located in the Salvation Army building and its centerpiece would be the year-round sale of fresh fruits and vegetables in a part of the city acknowledged as a food desert. The market could be paired with affordable housing on the building’s second floor to provide income to operate the building and keep rents low for market space.
The city hopes to negotiate a purchase option agreement for 333 Homestead Ave. and two nearby parking lots, according to a state funding application, on behalf of the Upper Albany Neighborhood Revitalization Zone, an organization of local residents that works with government officials to develop revitalization strategies. If a purchase agreement were reached, it is anticipated that the building would eventually be owned and operated by a nonprofit community development corporation with local residents represented on its board.
The plans for how the building would be used are in the earliest stages and could change. But the vision got a significant boost recently when the State Bond Commission approved a $1.5 million grant for the purchase of the building through the Community Investment Fund program. Last year, the program,
which seeks to foster economic development in traditionally underserved communities, approved $1 million for project planning. The city is expected to contribute $1.5 million in economic development funds toward the purchase.
“It’s a unique opportunity that I’ve never seen done in Hartford before,” said City Councilwoman Shirley Surgeon, who has been leading the effort, “and that uniqueness of a community development corporation actually providing wares, fresh fruits and vegetables and the opportunity for entrepreneurs to have some place to sell.”
The Salvation Army said the building is not currently being offered for sale because it is being used to house the organization’s Marshall House Emergency Shelter for Families on a temporary basis, while renovations to the permanent shelter on Marshall Street are completed.
“We are continuing to consider and evaluate many different options for the future of this property,” the Salvation Army said in a statement.
Surgeon said The Salvation Army intends to occupy the building for at least another year.
Economic development use
The idea of a neighborhood-controlled venture surfaced last year when Upper Albany residents opposed relocating the South Park Inn shelter from Main Street to Salvation Army building. The shelter relocation was dropped after the proposal touched off an uproar in the neighborhood, where residents argued for using the building for economic development, rather than social services.
The city sees Homestead Avenue corridor as a prime for economic development, its long history of manufacturing going next generation and high-tech.
“We’ve worked closely with neighborhood partners to identify specific priorities, including the potential redevelopment of 333 Homestead,” Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin said in an email. “We’re ready to support and assist with the acquisition of that property, if possible, and we’re going to continue working together with the neighborhood to pursue the revitalization of the Homestead corridor as a whole.”
Surgeon sees the market also as an incubator for new businesses, similar to what the Parkville Market has done for restaurants.
“I look at Parkville and what they have accomplished,” Surgeon said. “A lot of people have gotten their restaurants started at Parkville and then, they branched out.”
In order to operate the building and ensure that rent for space in the market is affordable, one idea under consideration is creating housing on the second floor of the two-story building, Surgeon said.
The housing could be affordable, or income-restricted units, for seniors, veterans or even artists and would ensure a steady income for the property, Surgeon said.
“We have to be conscious that we can’t rent stalls for an exorbitant price,” Surgeon said. “These are entrepreneurs starting a business. But we certainly need to make sure that there is ample funds to run the building and that’s why the housing piece comes into play.”
If the building were acquired, more funding would certainly needed to redevelop the structure, Surgeon said.
The project comes as the Upper Albany NRZ has become a nonprofit, making it better equipped “to partner with government, philanthropic and other private entities in order to purchase, develop and manage the Salvation Army property in a manner that will bring transformational programming in the neighborhood,” according to the application to the state for the recent Community Investment Fund grant.
The Upper Albany NRZ also is working more closely with other North End NRZs such as Blue Hills and Northeast to better align revitalization strategies.
In addition to the Homestead Avenue project, these Hartford developments also received grants through the Community Investment Fund:
◼ $1.6 million to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Hartford. The grant will help renovate an 18,000-square-foot building to provide classroom space, a makerspace/technology lab, a learning center, a gymnasium, art space and an indoor hydroponic garden.
◼ $4.6 million to the city of Hartford for planning and designing the redevelopment of Mary Shepard Place in the Clay-Arsenal neighborhood. The project will provide homeownership options for income-eligible buyers.
◼ $522,000 to Riverfront Recapture to complete a 825-foot section of trail. The project will include the construction of a bridge spanning Decker’s Brook, closing a gap in the trail system between the Hartford and Windsor river walks.