Archive for the 'Development' Category
777 Main Street – Your Future Home?
Kenneth Gosselin’s piece about the Bank of America building in today’s Courant noted that the owner of 777 Main Street had considered converting some of the building to condos in 2006, and ended with a quote making it clear that a residential conversion was back on the table.
Although the current situation can be viewed as a loss for the City – nobody wants to see a business downsizing – it can also be seen as an opportunity. Numerous Downtown office buildings are looking for tenants, so consolidating the companies is a good thing because it makes the “winning” buildings more stable. In this case, the owner of the “losing” building seems to have anticipated this possibility and is actively considering alternatives.
Of the underutilized office buildings Downtown, 777 Main seems like one of the more attractive candidates for conversion:
- Most importantly, the footprint of the tower is a good shape. The structure is much longer than wide, with windows on all four sides, so hopefully an architect could lay out the floors such that all the rooms in each unit had windows.
- The building is positioned well in relation to the other towers, so that there are views in all directions. Views are especially nice to the east, overlooking the Old State House, the Science Center, and the Connecticut River. The closest tower is the Gold Building, south across Pearl Street, which is one of the narrow sides of the Bank of America building. Hopefully there will also be a neighbor to the north one day in the surface lot on the northwest corner of Asylum and Main, though it would not be immediately adjacent.
- 777 Main is centrally located in Downtown Hartford, making it a short walk to any of the numerous museums, theaters, restaurants, or other attractions. It would also be a short walk to any of the office buildings downtown, and ideal for commuting since there is convenient access to major highways in all directions.
- Buyers … well, everyone … complains about parking all the time, so the fact that there is a sizable attached parking deck should alleviate that concern of potential buyers.
Downtown Hartford is more active and vibrant than most assume. It is undeniably the center of the arts and culture in the region, and is bustling with activity during the day thanks to the large number of businesses. What many don’t realize is that the number of residents has been increasing in recent years thanks to apartment projects like Hartford 21, The Lofts at Temple & Main, 915 Main, 55 on the Park, Trumbull on the Park, and the Hollander Foundation Center. These have been a nice complement to the more established condo options, which are mostly located south of Gold Street.
Converting 777 Main to a residential use would be a huge win for the continued evolution of the Downtown Hartford neighborhood. Each new project puts more feet on the street, which helps support a larger base of businesses. Additional residents can also make a big impact on the perception problems that the City faces in the Greater Hartford region by talking about their decision to move Downtown and their experiences with friends, family, and co-workers.
Most encouraging of all is that Hartford leadership seems to be on top of the situation and supportive. At the One City, One Plan meeting focused on the Downtown neighborhood last fall, the City brought a map of Downtown identifying opportunities to add up to 4,500 additional housing units (see page 11 of this presentation). One of the sites highlighted was 777 Main.
Downtown Hartford Construction Update
After attending the MetroHartford Alliance Rising Star Breakfast this morning, I took a couple minutes to snap some pictures of the major construction projects around the Convention Center. It was exciting to see crews hard at work improving Downtown Hartford.
Much of the structural work appears to be complete at the Front Street project…
Supports are in place for the pedestrian bridge that will connect the Convention Center to the Science Center and the rest of Constitution Plaza…
The Broadcast House has been completely removed in preparation for the new AI Tech Center…
Hartford’s One City, One Plan Continues
Discussion of Hartford’s Plan of Conservation and Development resumes this week with the first of four Community Listening Sessions organized by the City Planning & Zoning Commission.
Since the first round of events, the City has been working to incorporate the community feedback into the overall plan. A second draft is available, and there is a summary of the Top 20 Individual Ideas as voted by the attendees of the previous events. After looking at the voting results, they have concluded that the most popular theme is making the City, and Downtown in particular, more pedestrian and bicycle friendly. Sustainability was the second most popular theme, and from there the individual ideas become more diverse.
The current set of Listening Sessions all have the same basic agenda, with the main difference being the neighborhoods under discussion.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
6:30 – 8:30
Metzner Recreation Center
680 Franklin Ave
Neighborhoods: Barry Square, MARG, Sheldon-Charter Oak, South End, South Meadows, SouthwestTuesday, February 9, 2010
7:00 – 9:00
United Methodist Church of Greater Hartford
571 Farmington Ave
Neighborhoods: Asylum Hill, Parkville, West EndThursday, February 11, 2010
6:30 – 8:30
Pope Park Recreation Center
30 Pope Park Dr
Neighborhoods: Behind the Rocks, Downtown, Frog Hollow, South Green, South DowntownTuesday, February 16, 2010
6:30 – 8:30
Rawson School
260 Holcomb St
Neighborhoods: Blue Hills, Clay Arsenal, Northeast, North Meadows, Upper Albany
This will be the last opportunity for public input before the formal review process begins at the end of the month. Make your voice heard so that our leadership knows what you think is important for the City of Hartford over the coming 10 years.