UConn residence hall plan clears hurdle

It’s an ambitious development timetable.

The University of Connecticut, whose expansion in Hartford is picking up momentum, would commit to a 20-year lease for a downtown student residence hall off Pratt Street, a $28 million project that is on a fast track for a possible opening in the fall 2025.

The residence hall proposal would convert four floors of offices in an annex connected to the 242 Trumbull St. office complex, which forms much of the north side of Pratt Street.

The proposal, which would primarily provide housing for students at its downtown Hartford regional campus, won critical support on Thursday.

The housing committee of the Capital Region Development Authority approved a state-taxpayer backed $10 million loan for the residence hall, which would have suites and accommodate about 200 students.

The authority’s full board must still approve the loan and also the State Bond Commission.

In addition, the UConn Board of Trustees must back an agreement with the developers.

Joanne Berger-Sweeney, chair of CRDA’s housing committee and president of Trinity College in Hartford, said at Thursday’s meeting the residence hall could further the idea that Hartford should be promoted as a college town.

“Believe it or not, combined total in this region, there are more than 30,000 students,” Berger-Sweeney said. “If you want to be considered a college town, this feels like exactly the kind of project that puts that in the forefront.”