Uconn nears deal for student housing
Downtown Hartford commercial space may boost regional campus
The University of Connecticut is close to reaching an agreement to convert commercial space in downtown into housing for 200 students to serve its regional campus in the city.
“We are about 95% complete on a term sheet,” Robert Corbett, Uconn’s interim associate vice president for planning, design and construction, recently told a board of trustees committee, according to a video of the meeting. “The developer is still slightly short, about $3 million short of making the full transaction complete.”
Corbett did not identify the Hartford building or the developer, but the leading candidate is the eight-story office building at the corner of Pratt and Trumbull streets, across from the XL Center.
A term sheet outlines the financing of a development and other conditions of a project.
Ever since Uconn opened its regional campus in downtown Hartford in 2017, there has been discussion about the addition of undergraduate student housing — something that the university has successfully done at its Stamford campus.
Corbett told the trustees’ building, grounds and environment committee that the residence hall could be open as soon as the fall of 2025, but no later than the fall of 2026.
A university spokeswoman declined to comment on the potential location of the downtown Hartford housing or other details, including what the project might cost.
Corbett said the city of Hartford is looking to commit funds to the project and the developer has increased its equity investment. Some philanthropic fundraising
also may be necessary for operations, Corbett said.
Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam declined to comment on the specifics of a downtown residence hall development. But Arulampalam expressed enthusiasm for its potential.
“This is an exciting time for downtown Hartford, and we’re proud of the strong relationship we have with Uconn and our downtown campus,” Arulampalam said, in an email. “Hartford is a college town, and my administration is working closely with Uconn and our partners to get this project across the finish line and build a downtown where students can feel at home and take advantage of all the amenities and vibrancy our city has to offer.”
Uconn officials say student surveys have shown a strong interest in housing for the Hartford campus.
The addition of a residence hall in Hartford also would give Uconn another housing option for freshman applicants who are accepted to the university but can’t get into the main campus at Storrs.
Of the nearly 57,000 applicants for this fall’s semester, all but 2,000 sought acceptance to Storrs. The applications also indicate a strong, clear demand for housing, and the addition of a residence hall to Hartford could increase the attractiveness of the city as a second option.
University officials say the housing could serve upper division students who want intern in downtown Hartford.
In addition to Uconn, the University of Saint Joseph is looking for a block of up to 40 downtown Hartford apartments for graduate students, starting this fall. Saint Joseph’s also is seeking to ease a housing crunch on its main campus in West Hartford.
Uconn has looked at a half dozen potential locations for the residence hall in recent months. University officials said they were in a geographic triangle formed by the XL Center, its Hartford regional campus in the former Hartford Times complex on Prospect Street and Constitution Plaza, where Uconn has long had its master of business administration program.
The office structure at 242 Trumbull across from the XL Center has been marketed for an apartment conversion by its new owner, Shelbourne Global Solutions LLC of Brooklyn, New York, downtown’s largest commercial real estate landlord.
The Trumbull Street office building would be across the street from the XL Center where Uconn plans an expansion this year. Uconn is leasing the former University of Saint Joseph pharmacy school space at the XL Center, and plans to open a research innovation center there this fall.
The former Hilton recently converted to apartments over a downsized Doubletree hotel still has additional space that could be used for a residence hall.
A longer shot is the empty 200 Constitution Plaza, the site of an apartment conversion that fell through last year. But a plan for 200 Constitution would be complicated by a foreclosure now involving the complex.