May 9, 2008
A $7 Million Jump Start For
Hartford's Front Street
By JEFFREY B.
COHEN
The federal government has approved $7 million in funding that
developers say will allow them to begin construction of retail
space at Front Street this fall.
"This is good news," said Peter Christian, who works with the
developer HB Nitkin Group. "We're in pretty good shape right
now. This is the last piece of public financing we were waiting
on."
Good news, though, is a relative thing when it comes to Front
Street — an empty lot across from the Connecticut Convention
Center that long ago was supposed to be turned into a
destination spot for apartment dwellers, shoppers and fun
seekers.
Developer Bradley Nitkin's original plans for the site called
for using the entire swath of now-vacant land between Columbus
Boulevard and Prospect Street. But that plan was downsized into
two phases. For the first phase, the state and Nitkin agreed to
develop roughly half of that site into 115 apartments and 65,000
square feet of retail. Architectural plans that showed
apartments atop large, glassy shop fronts were completed late
last year to a good bit of fanfare.
In March, crunched by rising construction costs and a slumping
economy, the state and Nitkin changed course, jettisoned the
apartments, and decided to move forward with roughly 68,000
square feet of retail space. The housing will have to wait until
market conditions improve.
The city had federal approval to use $7 million for Front
Street, a key component of the Adriaen's Landing project that
also includes the convention center and the still-to-be
completed Connecticut Science Center. After the initial approval
expired in 2006, the city reapplied for the money. On Thursday,
U.S. Rep. John B. Larson, D-1st District, and Sen. Christopher
Dodd, D-Conn., announced that the federal Department of Housing
and Urban Development had approved the money — a $2 million
grant and a $5 million loan.
"We're delighted," Nitkin said in an interview. "This will not
look like an average shopping center. It's an architecturally
attractive, Robert Stern-designed project that will be very much
in keeping with the surrounding architecture in Hartford."
Stern's architectural firm, Robert A.M. Stern Architects, is the
project's designer.
Hartford Mayor Eddie A. Perez applauded Thursday's announcement,
even though he'd rather see a bigger project.
"My preference was that we would do everything at once," Perez
said. "But I understand Mr. Nitkin has a motive to make sure
this is a market-driven deal. The fact that he wants to stage it
and take a little time to make sure the housing is built is a
good thing."
Perez said he hoped, though, that planning for the housing would
start in the next few months.
"If we need to change the size of the units and make them more
worker housing instead of empty nesters," that would be OK,
Perez said. But the development can't stop with retail alone, he
said.
"I want the home run," Perez said. "But getting to second base
is OK"
Contact Jeffrey B. Cohen at jcohen@courant.com.
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