It seems to me that in evaluating a city we should be using a similar approach. When comparing our area to others around the country, we need to be comparing like to like. The current dust-up about Hartford being a “dead city” is the most recent, but far from only, example of how inappropriate comparisons skew reality in one way or another.

A wonderfully positive example is Kiplinger Personal Finance Magazine recognizing West Hartford as a town for the coming decade next to Austin and Seattle. The point isn’t that West Hartford is unworthy, or to minimize all the hard work of the town’s leadership, rather that comparing West Hartford and Washington DC (#3 on the list) as equals is not apples-to-apples.

We unfortunately can’t control how other people do their analysis, but we can draw our own conclusions so that we can decide on our own what truly matters and what doesn’t. Amy and I have lived in a few different parts of the country, but we’re going to need help from our readers to find appropriate cities to use as comps for Hartford.

But before we get to that, our first order of business is to define what we mean by “Hartford.”

The word “Hartford” can be used in a lot of different ways, and means different things to different people. In some of the most common uses the speaker means…
- The Downtown neighborhood where all the tall buildings are.
- Everything within the Hartford City limits.
- The general geographic area that is centered on the City of Hartford.
- The seat of the County and State governments.

Normally defining the city wouldn’t be a challenge, but boundary lines are drawn differently in Connecticut than in many other parts of the country. Is it appropriate to compare Hartford to Detroit? Hartford (as defined in the article) is strictly the City of Hartford, which is 17.3 square miles of land. Detroit, on the other hand is 138.8 square miles. In order to make a geographic area of comparable size, we would need to include Hartford, West Hartford, Wethersfield, Newington, Rocky Hill, Bloomfield, Windsor, and half of Windsor Locks. Would the conclusions be the same if the analysis included all of those towns?

I propose that we think of “Hartford” as the region – the general area centered on the City of Hartford, but including all the surrounding towns. There is no right answer, of course, but I think that taking a regional view is most appropriate because we have a regional economy with people frequently traveling between towns for work, to shop, and to have fun. Additionally, taking this view is the only practical way to compare Hartford to other cities since they are usually geographically much larger. The negative of looking regionally is that it will be very difficult to gather data on the Hartford region.

Going back to the article praising West Hartford, I think that Hartford (as a region) would still be worthy of inclusion as a best city for the coming decade. I’m no expert on Washington DC, but if Kiplinger is able to look past their challenges to see the potential, then they should be able to see past our challenges too.

I’d love to have folks weigh in with their take on how we should define “Hartford.” And if we can agree, then we can begin to look for other similar cities to which we can compare our current situation and future ambitions.

From what I can tell from the picture, it looks like a minimum of 8 different types of roofing shingles have been used at various times in this roof’s life. Quite a piece of art!

A landscape architect designed custom patio welcomes you to 10 Walbridge Road and invites you to sit and chat with your neighbors. Inside a traditional foyer greets your guests and is flanked by the formal living room which features a fireplace, built-in book shelves, and French door access to the beautiful 3-season room. An oversized dining room is the perfect place to entertain. The large kitchen offers plenty of storage with its original butler’s pantry. Upstairs you’ll find a lovely master bedroom suite with full bath and dressing room. Two additional bedrooms, one with a sleeping porch, and a full bath complete the second floor. The third floor provides two more generously sized bedrooms, another full bath, and storage space. Outside the perennial gardens and shrubbery provide a lush landscape and privacy. The 2-car garage completes the property.

10 Walbridge Road is offered at $625,000. If you’d like to see this home, please have your agent arrange a showing, call me at 860-655-2125 to schedule a visit, or stop by the open house on July 18 between 1:00pm-3:00pm. Both floor plan and photos are available.

The oversized corner lot has been lovingly landscaped with perennials, annuals, mature shrubs and trees, and two patio areas. Inside the home you’ll find every room is light and bright with refinished hardwood floors. The formal living room is spacious and has a wood burning fireplace. It opens to the dining room which is a nice place for formal or casual entertaining. The updated kitchen has eat-in space, newer appliances, Silestone counters, and connects to a 3-season breezeway. The first floor also offers a den, master bedroom with updated bath, an additional bedroom and another updated full bath. Upstairs you’ll find two more oversized bedrooms, a full bath, and plenty of storage space. The home has a new furnace, basement space with a fireplace which has great potential for finishing, and an attached 2-car garage. Truly easy West Hartford living!

26 Treeborough Drive is offered at $525,000. If you’d like to see this home, please have your agent arrange a showing, call me at 860-655-2125 to schedule a visit, or stop by the open house on July 18 between 1:00pm-3:00pm. Both floor plan and photos are available.

Grant, thanks for the pictures!

2010: none

2011: East Hartford, Enfield, Hartford, Manchester, Marlborough, Newington, Plainville, Southington, West Hartford

2012: Berlin, Bristol, East Windsor, Farmington, Glastonbury, Granby, New Britain, Simsbury, South Windsor

2013: Avon, Burlington, Canton, East Granby, Rocky Hill, Suffield, Wethersfield, Windsor, Windsor Locks

2014: Bloomfield

The process is basically the same everywhere. Towns review all the properties to make sure they have the correct stats – beds, baths, size, etc. Next they gather information on sales and feed all the data into the computer. A value is assigned to each property and the owners are notified – generally in the fall of the revaluation year.

West Hartford has an FAQ document on the part of their website related to the 2011 revaluation. Here is their answer to one important question that homeowners often have.

What will happen to my assessment if I improve my property?

While property improvements generally increase the value to your property, they may or may not change the assessment to your property. For example, while replacing a roof covering, a furnace, a water heater or updating your electrical main should have a positive effect on your market value they are not likely to increase your assessment. Landscaping your property should increase its curb appeal and could also increase its value, but would not increase your assessment. There are also improvements that would increase your market value and correspondingly your assessment. Some of these changes include adding central air conditioning, finishing off a basement, building an addition, and possibly remodeling a kitchen or bath(s).

Even after property owners receive their initial letter, they have an opportunity to challenge the new valuation. It usually begins with an informal hearing, which is basically just a meeting in which the owner can present their case. We always advise bringing data to support your argument. If the informal hearing doesn’t produce the desired outcome, then there is a more formal appeals process. This can vary by town, so be sure to check with your assessor to find out the exact process.

What this now means for me when I show homes in East Granby (the small town winner), Avon (the medium town winner), and Glastonbury (the large town winner), is that agents and home owners will proudly display this magazine because, well, it reaffirms that their town is the best and you should just buy this house so you can be part of it.

If you live in one of the lower ranked towns you should probably burn the magazine. Surely don’t put it out on your coffee table for buyers to peruse- they might shift their search to a different town. I live in Hartford which is ranked 8 out of 9 for the large towns. Sigh. It seems like I should cancel my subscription to Hartford Magazine. Oh wait, they mail it to me for free…

Then later in the day I saw that Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine released a list of the 10 Best Cities for the Next Decade. One of our lowly Hartford County towns was on that list, West Hartford. That’s right, Hartford Magazine ranked West Hartford third out of the large towns within just Hartford County, but Kiplingers ranked it #9 out of all of the places to live in the entire United States. For the next 10 years! Huh, go figure.

I saw that Rick Green also posted about this. Most amusing were the comments on his blog post where you get the West Hartford haters and West Hartford supporters. As someone that lives in a city that’s always hated on, it was nice to see a neighboring town take some of the heat for the day.

So what does all of this mean in the grand scheme of things? Really, not much. People are smart enough to figure out what towns work best for their lifestyle, budget and needs. A town that may work for me may not work for you and vice versa. These types of “rankings” get people talking about the good and bad. At least with people talking hopefully folks will learn something new about their surroundings, which may even lead them to take a visit to another town to go exploring. And then, maybe, your rankings will change.

The Connecticut Resource Recovery Authority (CRRA) has set their collection schedule for the year, which is available online.

This Saturday’s collection will be in West Hartford. Gather your electronic junk, and plan your schedules accordingly. Gates will be open from 9:00 – 1:00 at the West Hartford Town Yard at 17 Brixton Street.

For those that cannot make it this week, the next local collection is on Saturday May 15, 2010 at the CRRA Trash Museum in Hartford, 211 Murphy Road. Once again, the gates are open from 9:00 – 1:00.

For the complete list of collection dates and sites, visit the CRRA website.

A spectacular, mature birch tree welcomes you to 11 Miamis Road. Inside, you’re greeted with charming arched doorways and shiny hardwood floors. An oversized living room complete with fireplace and built-ins is a nice place for entertaining. The large dining room overlooks the landscaped backyard. The white kitchen is functional and offers good storage and work space. The master bedroom is spacious with ample closets. Rounding out the floor plan are two additional bedrooms, a full bath, and 1-car garage. The unfinished basement provides great potential for additional finished space, if needed.

Outside, the grounds have been meticulously landscaped with mature perennial gardens and full fencing.

Most of the home’s mechanical systems have been recently updated, including a new furnace, central air, windows, 200 amp electrical service, and an ADT security system.

11 Miamis Road is offered at $242,000. If you’d like to see this home, please have your agent set up a showing, or call me at 860-655-2125 to schedule a visit. Both floor plan and photos are available.

When the Tetra Tech Rizzo representative arrives, the first thing they’ll want to do is get into the basement to sketch out the location of all the sewer and drainage lines within the property. Most West End homes have multiple lines running down from the upper floors, and the surveyor needs to identify the points where they go under the foundation with some precision. This step takes about 30 minutes on average, and will vary depending on the size of the home and the amount of stuff stored in the basement. Once they know where the different discharges leave the house, the engineers back at the office can (in theory) use city data sources to figure out how the lines get out to the street.

The second activity at each home is to determine where the storm water goes, which is usually just looking at what happens at the bottom of the gutter downspouts. Seeing it shot into the yard makes life easy for the MDC since they know it is not going directly into the sewer. However, if a downspout feeds into a pipe, then it may be going back inside the home and into the sewer system. That’s more difficult to determine, and over the long term will need to be changed.

The MDC Clean Water Project is scheduled to take a number of years, with everything complete by 2020. That sounds like a long time, but the existing water and sewer systems date back to the 1850s; what’s another decade?

For more information, check out page 9 of this presentation, given in March of 2010, which shows the 5 main areas of the initial sewer separation portion of the project. Most of the work is in Hartford, but the Farmington Avenue area crosses the City’s border into West Hartford. The broad areas are divided into 44 individual projects that are on separate timelines. Preliminary designs are complete for all of the projects though only 15 are in the active design phase and 5 are in construction. Check back with the Clean Water Project website periodically to get an update on their progress, the Presentations section seems to be updated most frequently.