Preferred developer chosen for largest, $130 million portion of Hartford’s Bushnell South. ‘This neighborhood is meant to be more.’
A Camden, N.J.-based firm, which has developed in urban centers such as Boston and Philadelphia and across 37 states, has been selected as the preferred developer of a $130 million, mixed-use project on the largest parking lot near the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts in Hartford.
The Michaels Organization has been chosen by the Capital Region Development Authority to tackle a major piece of Bushnell South, a redevelopment that has been envisioned for decades along Capitol Avenue that could encompass the addition of more than 1,000 apartments in the next decade.
Bushnell South aims to create a new neighborhood connecting Bushnell Park with the city neighborhoods to the south, replacing a barren jumble of parking lots near the state Capitol.
“This neighborhood is meant to be more,” Michael W. Freimuth, CRDA’s executive director, said Wednesday. “It’s been a no man’s land. And it’s been a public objective to build residences around the park, not dissimilar to Central Park or Boston Commons.”
Beyond that, Capitol Avenue needs to “be defining, it has to say, you are in the heart of the Capitol district,” Freimuth said. “It needs to be more than a parking lot, obviously.”
Michaels’ mixed-use proposal for the 3-acre parking lot just east of the renovated State Office Building is still in the early stages. But preliminary plans calls for 360 rentals, including 20% “affordable,” primarily in two larger buildings over 2,500 square feet of storefront space, likely including performance space tied to the arts.
The proposed housing also includes 15 townhouses along Buckingham Street that could be rentals or could be put up for sale. The preliminary plans also include 44 parking spaces underneath one of the large buildings, with the townhouses each having parking of their own. The development also would use spaces in a new parking garage nearby, part of a “district” parking plan.
Preliminary estimates of financing require $27 million in public financing and a tax abatement from the city.
A development agreement must still be approved by CRDA’s board. If approved, groundbreaking is at least 18 to 24 months away, and construction would likely take another 2 years.
Developer with national credentials
The selection Michaels — deliberated on for weeks by CRDA’s housing committee — brings a new major developer with national credentials into Hartford, Freimuth said.
The selection of Michaels also reflected a desire to diversify the field of developers in the city, Freimuth said.
“There was a feeling, ‘Let’s get another developer in,’ " Freimuth said.
Michaels was chosen from a field of four developers, including two — Spinnaker Real Estate Partners LLC of Norwalk and Spectra Construction and Development of New York, associated with Wonder Works Construction Corp. that have been active in mixed-use projects in downtown Hartford for years. The fourth proposal came from Lennar Multifamily Communities (LMC) of Charlotte, N.C.
All the proposals were strong, Freimuth said, but Michaels finally stood out the most.
“They were a little bit more attuned to public financing and urban development strategies, problems and consequences,” Freimuth said. “So they have gone through a lot of significant urban investments that required patience, endurance and tenacity. Every project has its issues, but the urban dynamic is much more complicated.”
Jay Russo, Michaels’ vice president of development, said Wednesday the project holds significant development potential for the city.
“In some ways, it’s a blank slate — you’ve got a parking lot there — and a nice piece of property, very close to parks,” Russo said. “What is missing is the activity of people. We have heard from the mayor and other people, that they are looking for transformational. This has the potential to be a nice, live work and play.”
Russo said Michaels will be working closely with the surrounding neighborhood and other stakeholders to shape the final plans.
Adding more apartments
How quickly the project unfolds will depend partly on the demand for new apartments in the city. The costs to finance affected by rising interest rates and the price and availability of construction materials also are a factor.
Since 2012, CRDA has helped fund 2,228 housing units in and around downtown Hartford, with another 391 either in or near construction. Another 781 are in the “pipeline,” for a total of 3,400. The figures don’t include what is planned for Bushnell South.
CRDA has invested about $150 million in those projects that totaled $755 million to construct, according to CRDA.
While rental occupancies downtown dipped in the pandemic, they rebounded and now are generally at 90% or better in most projects that included CRDA funding.
The foundation for Bushnell South has been unfolding for years, with the renovation of the State Office Building and the addition of the state-financed parking garage.
On the edges of Bushnell South, Spinnaker plans a $63 million conversion of the historic, 55 Elm St. into apartments, plus more future development around the former offices of the state’s Constitutional officers. And Spinnaker plans more development on the parking lots around the historic structure.
In addition, two historic structures to the west on Trinity Street that once housed state offices are expected to be sold by the state for redevelopment, likely residential.
The parking lots are a combination of public and private ownership. One of the lots bordering the 3-acres that would be developed by Michaels is one of three in the downtown area being considered for a new, $250 million federal courthouse.
Like the North Crossing development near Dunkin’ Donuts Park, which seeks to reconnect downtown with the city’s northern neighborhoods, Bushnell South would accomplish the same for Bushnell Park and Hartford’s neighborhoods to the south, Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin said.
“The Bushnell South project, which encompasses a number of vacant lots, will help to reconnect Main Street to the Capitol area, help bridge the hospital and Park Street into downtown and it will help create enough residential density on the south side of Bushnell Park that the park becomes the center of things rather than the periphery,” Bronin said.
Kenneth R. Gosselin can be reached at kgosselin@courant.com.
