$6 million in COVID-19 relief set aside to help fill Hartford’s vacant store fronts

The city of Hartford will direct up to $6 million of federal COVID-19 relief to commercial property owners to help them move businesses into vacant storefronts, Mayor Luke Bronin announced Thursday.

The new Hart Lift program, which will be administered by the Hartford Chamber of Commerce, will award property owners grants of $50 per square foot — up to $150,000 total — to cover the costs of building out street-level retail spaces for new tenants. The initiative will use up to 5% of the $112 million in American Rescue Plan funds headed to Hartford over the next three years.

The grants must be matched at 100% in the downtown and 50% elsewhere in the city, with the investment coming from the property owner, business owner or a combination of the two.

“We think it’s important they’ve got skin in the game,” Bronin said during a news conference on Capitol Avenue. “This is a really important opportunity to turn the challenges of the last year into a chance to help activate vacant store fronts and bring that vibrancy and activity and growth to our downtown and our neighborhoods alike.”

Applicants to Hart Lift must be in good standing without any delinquent property taxes, and they must have vacant, ground-level space and a new tenant with a lease of at least three years. Property owners must also have been negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic to be eligible.

Joined by chamber representatives and local property owners, Bronin shared details of the program against the rainbow-colored backdrop of 379 Capitol Ave.

A mural brightens the empty shop, which was last occupied by Norma’s Cafe, a nightclub, in 2016. The owner, Don Mancini, has been trying to change that while keeping his restaurant and bar on the corner afloat; Red Rock Tavern has been in the family for four generations.

“We were trying really hard before pandemic to fix up the property here,” Chelsey Mancini, Don’s daughter, said Thursday during the news conference. “We wanted to get a business to come in and complement our neighborhood, our community, but of course the pandemic has made that really difficult and it continues to be a challenge.”

She says she is excited to apply for the Hart Lift program and thinks it will make a difference in securing a new tenant.

Julio Concepción, a Democratic state representative and executive director of the chamber, said many property owners have made the same request throughout the last year and a half: funding to update their empty retail spaces for new tenants, including small business owners who can’t afford a build-out themselves.

“I think this could be a game changer here in the city of Hartford,” Concepción said.

Bronin said he would like to see the initiative lay the foundation for long-term economic recovery in parts of the city that were struggling even before the health and economic crises caused by COVID-19.

As an example, Bronin pointed to the block where he stood, where developer Aaron Gill has renovated apartment buildings and attracted businesses such as Story and Soil coffee shop and Capital Ice Cream.

“We want to replicate that success throughout our neighborhood corridors and throughout our downtown,” Bronin said.

Over the past five years, Gill and his wife, Maja have brought about a renaissance of this stretch of Capitol Avenue between Lawrence and Babcock streets. They plan to extend the renaissance deeper into Frog Hollow, which has been troubled for years by drug, gun and gang activity.

Less than two hours after the mayor spoke at the edge of the neighborhood, a 14-year-old boy was wounded in a shooting at the nearby intersection of Lawrence and Russ streets.

The Gills recently completed a pair of apartment renovations on the block, closer to Capitol Avenue. Units are renting for $1,575 a month in the historic, Italianate buildings that previously contributed to Lawrence Street’s blight.

The mayor said he also expects the Hart Lift program to work with Shelbourne Global Solutions LLC, the largest commercial landlord in downtown Hartford. Its properties include much of Pratt Street, where retail vacancies persist despite Shelbourne’s ongoing plan to transform the brick-paved, historic block into a hub of apartments, entertainment and arts.

As of October, about 35 properties for retail and restaurants remained unleased in Hartford’s downtown area, which includes Pratt, Main, Temple, Asylum, Trumbull, Union and Pearl streets, according to data provided by the Hartford Chamber of Commerce.

The neighborhoods will not be ignored, though, said chamber chair Max Kothari, who is also CEO of Express Kitchens and Star Hardware in Hartford.

Both businesses received federal loans, since forgiven, under the Paycheck Protection Program. Kothari has helped the city spread the word about PPP and other programs to small business owners in the North End, where his hardware store is located.

After 35 years in the North End, Kothari says he’s never seen this level of economic activity.

“Hartford is definitely changing, and there’s never been this many deals in the pipeline and the amount of things being done on a daily basis,” Kothari said. “This program would have taken years to executive and I think we got a call a few weeks back, the mayor made some decisions and got this program rolling.”

Property owners can fill out a pre-application on the Hartford chamber’s website. Current or future business owners seeking space in the city can also inquire online.

Rebecca Lurye can be reached at rlurye@courant.com.