Missed opportunities in Hartford CBD

[The Voice of Reason]

Hello all.

You may have noticed I joined these boards about a month ago, and I figure I should put a solid contribution up here and possibly spark some conversation.

One web site that I have come across in my exploration of Hartford developemnts is believe it or not, the Hartford tax assessors tax map.

http://assessor.hartford.gov/Default.asp?br=exp&vr=6

This is a great tool to use in conjunction with Google Maps or Google Earth for looking up information about buildings, or empty lots.

you can get property values, property owners, last sale price, lot size, zoning, pictures and more.

In my Nerdly persuits I want to list the greatest opportunities that the Hartford CBD has currently staring it in the face.

I am talking about empty lots. Flat ground level parking lots, and buildings that are well below their propertys potential usage.

If you are as thourogh as I am you will look them up on the web link I provided, and possibly come to a greater understanding of Hartfords missed opportunities.

Address.............................Owner...........................................................................

.................Acreage

0875 MAIN ST HARTFORD ALKON MAIN STREET, LLC The biggest Zit in downtown hartford. 1.059

0040 ASYLUM ST HARTFORD ALKON MAIN STREET, LLC The biggest Zit in downtown hartford. 0.287

0066 ASYLUM ST HARTFORD ALKON MAIN STREET, LLC The biggest Zit in downtown hartford. 0.718

2.064

1006 MAIN ST HARTFORD 1000 MAIN PARKING, LLC across from stilts flat lot 0.68

0033 ASYLUM ST HARTFORD GRUNBERG 777 MAIN LLC small drive way between burger king and parking garage 0.144

0045 ASYLUM ST HARTFORD GRUNBERG 777 MAIN LLC Parking garage on Asylum 330 spaces 0.478

0.622

0272 ASYLUM ST HARTFORD MORGAN REED ASYLUM, LLC corner of asylum and Ann 0.429

0300 ASYLUM ST HARTFORD MORGAN REED ASYLUM, LLC corner of asylum and Ann 0.237

0.666

0309 ASYLUM ST HARTFORD P.S.C. DEVELOPMENT, LLC The kind of lot a normal person could make a difference 0.192

0010 FORD ST HARTFORD H.L.O LAND OWNERSHIP ASSOC Prime park front acreage next to YMCA 2.08

0294 PEARL ST HARTFORD PSC DEVELOPMENT, LLC part of the YMCA block0.102

0300 PEARL ST HARTFORD PSC DEVELOPMENT, LLC 0.207

0.309

0185 PEARL ST HARTFORD SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND TEL CO SNET area flat lots0.363

0000 PEARL ST HARTFORD SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND TEL CO SNET area flat lots0.64

0044 HICKS ST HARTFORD SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND TEL CO SNET area flat lots0.104

0000 JEWELL ST HARTFORD L-A/55 TRUMBULL LLC parking along park 1.06

2.167

0160 JEWELL ST HARTFORD YMCA Still owned by YMCA, not Northland 1.3

0108 ALLYN ST HARTFORD ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY ALLYN ST ASSOCIATES Potential for massive condo development 1000+ units 0.1

0112 ALLYN ST HARTFORD ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY ALLYN ST ASSOCIATES Potential for massive condo development 1000+ units 0.296

0128 ALLYN ST HARTFORD ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY ALLYN ST ASSOCIATES Potential for massive condo development 1000+ units 0.689

0154 ALLYN ST HARTFORD ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY ALLYN ST ASSOCIATES Potential for massive condo development 1000+ units 0.221

0098 HIGH ST HARTFORD ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY ALLYN ST ASSOCIATES Potential for massive condo development 1000+ units 0.327

0106 HIGH ST HARTFORD ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY ALLYN ST ASSOCIATES Potential for massive condo development 1000+ units 0.084

0112 HIGH ST HARTFORD ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY ALLYN ST ASSOCIATES Potential for massive condo development 1000+ units 0.096

0122 HIGH ST HARTFORD ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY ALLYN ST ASSOCIATES Potential for massive condo development 1000+ units 0.118

0329 CHURCH ST HARTFORD ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY ALLYN ST ASSOCIATES Potential for massive condo development 1000+ units 0.103

0339 CHURCH ST HARTFORD ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY ALLYN ST ASSOCIATES Potential for massive condo development 1000+ units 0.132

0409 CHURCH ST HARTFORD PSC DEVELOPMENT, LLC Potential for massive condo development 1000+ units0.576

0200 ALLYN ST HARTFORD 200 ALLYN REALTY, INC Potential for massive condo development 1000+ units 0.573

3.315 Acres

0228 CHURCH ST HARTFORD 224-240 CHURCH, LLC flat lot next to church street garage0.232

0314H CHURCH ST HARTFORD ST PATRICK flat lot next to church street garage0.927

1.159 Acres

0280 CHURCH ST HARTFORD METRO CENTER PARKING LLC Once the planned location of metro Center II 1.123

0284 CHURCH ST HARTFORD METRO CENTER PARKING LLC Once the planned location of metro Center II 0.246

1.369

0033 CAPITOL AV HARTFORD WHITMAN CLOSE ASSOC, INC small lot near main street side. Would be good infill 0.28

0063 CAPITOL AV HARTFORD ALKON HUDSON STREET LLC Potential for massive condo development 1000+ units 0.126

0067 CAPITOL AV HARTFORD ALKON HUDSON STREET LLC Potential for massive condo development 1000+ units1.252

0108 CAPITOL AV HARTFORD ALKON HUDSON STREET LLC Potential for massive condo development 1000+ units 0.483

0126 CAPITOL AV HARTFORD PRESBYTERIAN FOUNDATION INC.,THE Potential for massive condo development 1000+ units 0.162

0165 CAPITOL AV HARTFORD STATE OF CONN OFFICE BUILDING Potential for massive condo development 1000+ units 1.989

4.012

0170 CAPITOL AV HARTFORD STATE OF CONN HIGHWAY DEPT Huge area mostly state owned includes many more 3.6

0223 CAPITOL AV HARTFORD STATE OF CONN PARKING properties. Could become north end sized mixed use 0.862

4.462

Almost every one of these properties are undeveloped land or only lightly developed. There are very little hurdles for development, and this should make each and every one attractive for developers. The cities current tax structure rewards the flat lot, and this is something that needs to change.

I would like to see the city take a stand. Look at all of these properties and develop a vision for them. They should contact the owners of each of these properties and demand that something be built on each property. The crater marks on our street scape make the city appear unsafe, unfriendly, and contribute to the 9-5 mentality that is so prevelant. If the city could not encourage or coerce developerrs to realize this vision, than I think the city should find a way to seize the properties (it already owns many of them) and then for public private partnerships to develop housing, retail and parking garages.

To me there are two key properties that are holding this city back.

First is the huge undeveloped area on Allyn Street. Yes I know it was supposed to become Hartford World Trade Center, or some other such 600'+ Skyscraper, but the late 80s are gone and Hartford has new needs and new demands. If a developer were to aquire this land and put an 8 story building on the two lots to the South, West, and the "panhandle" of the main block, the city would gain ~400 residential units on top of over 100K Sqft of retail space. Building 8 stories is cheap in the constrruction world, and also 8 stories would not dominate or dwarf the surrounding buildings. I think it important for a development of this size to replicate the surrounding architecture, or at very least compliment it. I am talking about a brick fascade, glass store fronts, wide sidewalks, arches etc. There would be no on street parking and only 2 lanes of traffic preferably on cobblestone streets. The entire project area would need to include a subterranian parking garage. The garage would be built covering the entire property and be connected under the existing with entrances in the West, and South Building, and they would unite underground . The main entrance/exits from the garage would be in the main building and would be on Church street facing the Metro center as that would be the least commercial street and easiest access to highways.

The Main building in this development could be anything, as a Mixed use tower it would likely have the best effect on the area. With the large number of reasonably priced condos in the surrounding developemt (400X$250,000) this could become the "heart" of the city. If a 30 story tower were deemed economically viable top floor condos could become very desirable, as well as up to 500k sq feet of Class A office. This building would also have the lower 8 or so floors contain affordable residential buch like the surrounding buildings. The number of residents would make attracting Anchor type retail(Boarders,Regal Cinemas, who knows, maybe even a Macys) as well as all the amenities for the condo units including a pool, gym, game room etc that would help to make this the catalyst it could be. If early sales on the periferal buildings condos went well, the developer could configure the tower as they deemed necessary and go entirely residential. I do however believe that if someone put 500K SQFT up in a vibrent area, it would rent out very quickly. I also think it could be used to attract a back office of one of the major NY investment banks or financial institutions (JPMC, ML, GS, AIG, Lehman, HSBC, DB, BNP, etc...)

In an ideal configuration, I see this area filled with 600+ affordable condos ($250-$350k) and ~200 condos ranging from $400k-$1.5M. There would be 3-500K SQFT of class A Office primarily filled with a single tenant (~1500 workers) lured forrm NYC in the finance industry. On the street level there would be tastefull facades with wide sidewalks capable of supporting cafes, with 200K SQFT of retail/entertainment. A development of this size could easily lure major retailers downtown as it would have 1000+ residents living here, and 1500 working there. Imagine a Dave and Busters, a Boarders, a movie theater, and a Department store on the ground level of the main block with dozens of small retailers, bars, cafes, clubs, etc across the street. There is no other property in this city that you could have as much of an impact on the street scape, and the composition of its residents and its visitors. This development would make High street south to the park much more viable for retail and resturants. As the Bond Hotel opens, and 410 Asylum http://www.urbanplanet.org/forums/410-Asylum-t41363.html is fixed up, I see this as an area that could really ignite life in the city.

The second area is the 875 Main Street piece. This block is like a zit on prom night. It shocks visitors, and embarasses locals. This is the dead center of downtown, and gives the city that not so fresh feel. I would love to see something built here. Society for Savings was supposed to be here, as was Renissance place. Unfortunately for this block to be successful it needs to be done right. You dont throw up a 1950s ranch on the town square of a historic town. So you cannot just fill the space in the state capitol and commercial center CBD. This needs to be done along the lines of Goodwin Hotel tower. With facades along Pratt street maintained, and with Main street and Asylum streets treated with respect. There should be replicas of historic buildings built if possible, and then in the center of the block the office/hotel/residential tower could rise freely while repairing the fabric of the streets around it.

It is my opinion that Grunberg needs to do something with 33 and 45 Asylum at the same time to make Asylum the street we all know it could be. There is real potential here between these two locations, unfortunately I do not believe anything will happen here for a long time as it will be an expensive building to build. The parking demands would be a major cost leader. There would need to be underground parking and as much as possible. The flat lot that is there currently provides key parking to State House square, and the BOA building as well as pratt street. The parking would need to be replaced and improved upon if a tower were built here. So again this would be an expensive building to build. Think $300 Million. There is no way that any developer would get any kind of return on that kind of investment. So I think this is one lot the city and state might need to help out on. Especially the parking component because if a large enough garage were built, this key location could eliminate the downtown parking crunch

Redevelopment!

The primary location I feel needs to have redevelopment would be constitution plaza. Wow, not a suprise ehh? OK, bear with me as I have thought this thru. We all know about the Clarion hotel location, and WFSB 3, but the entire northern end of that plaza is nearly vacant. www.loopnet.com will back me up on this. Also the 3 Northern most buildings are quite small, out dated and useless. City Gov't offices like the planning department rent some of that space, and they could be easily relocated. $10M for the Hotel, $3M for the broadcast house, and as much as $5-6M for those 3 Northern most buildings as you have a massive investment before you even start construction. OUCH.... but stay with me. The Morgan street garage is 8 stories, cost $25,907,574, and holds 2290 cars. I propose the addition of 4 more levels to this garage (I have no doubt it is engineered to be able to handle this) adding 1145 more spaces at a cost of likely between 13 and 15 million. I would remove the 3 northerrn most buildings and put a condo/apartment building in the NE corner of the lot on talcott and Columbus. The entire building would have nice views of the river to the NE, and everything above the 12th floor would have views North over top of the garage. These views will never be blocked so it would be a nice investment. The building would have easy highway access and this would be a very desirable location to live. The street frontages of the entire block would be re worked to be pedestrian friendly and retail friendly. The area needs to be "softened up" by using earth tones and greenery. I would develop the property as to open up the streets, and to allow access to a new plaza, but one at street level(thus losing 1 level of underground parking). I would take down ALL of the sky bridges. The only exception might be a connection from the 6th floor of the garage to the condo. The NW corner SHOULD some day be a 12 or so story office, however there is no demand, so I would just leave it as open space with some park benches.

There should be another residential building from Kingsley to State street running along Columbus. This building would also have nice views over the Steam boiler, and over the bridge with lots odf water for any view to the east. I would put a hotel in this building as well. It is so close to the convention center and could really help connect the CC to the city while revitalizing several blocks of downtown. I Have only mentioned 2 residential buildings in this project, but there is a great deal of room here for development. It would really depend on market demands what else could be built. It is, however, my opinion that the residential/hotel components I mentioned would be great additions to the city while putting all of the people currently working in Constitution plaza, as well as all of those at Hartford Steam Boiler, and Uniprise back onto the street interacting with their environment.

[grock]

This is great information and a great find. Housing is the key. I honestly believe if more people lived downtown including employees of downtown corporations, the companies might want to stay. Namely: ING,Mass Mutual, WFSB and Metlife

[mikel]

Very nice post. The parking lots in the CBD sicken me, especially when I when you think of what was there, and the fact that those buildings didn't need to come down.

I honestly think eight stories should be a limit in Hartford, period. Unless some corporations comes in and wants to build their own office tower (doubtful to happen...ever) all buildings should be dense and low. A housing tower adds nothing positive to the city, and they come with their necessary parking garages. No more towers please, until Hartford is completely dense and everyone is using mass transit.

Also, a code should be made regarding new construction (design and building quality) in the CBD. All buildings should be constructed to fit into the character of the city (including the character we used to have, before we bulldozed that stuff), with floor retail on main streets. Parking should be hidden as much as possible (and parking at H21 is not very well hidden). I'm not against modern architecture, but we can't keep denying our New England heritage which is something that could really help this city.

[The Voice of Reason]

ACK!!! My formatting is all messed up.

This is gonna be diffacult to fix. I actually have so many plans/ideas for various lots in Hartford, so do not be suprised if I choose this thread as a place to pour this information. After all, you guys might ever so slightly appreciate it while my wife just smiles and shakes her head.

[HartfordTycoon]

Great post. I've used that site before, but forgot how to access it. You have some really insightful thoughts about the best uses for those various properties. I totally agree about that area on Main St. That general area seems to be livening up though and hopefully that will spur further and greater investment culminating in new construction driven by the market and not just state subsidies.

[beerbeer]

You are correct about the first step. The tax code should not reward folks for empty lots.

[HartfordTycoon]

You are correct about the first step. The tax code should not reward folks for empty lots.

[The Voice of Reason]

We need to implement the split tax to encourage developement. It's pretty simple and has worked in other places such as Harrisburgh, PA.

[HartfordTycoon]

Regarding the tax issue, I think it is the easiest first step for so many reasons. If you really want to shock yourself you should look at some of those major properties. They list the address of all of them, and I would guess from memory that 90% are owned by out of state companies. Many from NY, many from the Miami area in FL.

If I were to use a little assumption I would say that these are companies with financial means. If the tax structure was different they would be very inclined to develop, or unload to someone that will. If you look at the sale prices, almost every property was purchased a long time ago, and was done so for what would be concidered a song today. These investments have paid of 10-20X with parking revenues, and its time to stop letting people make money off of Hartford, and start putting money into hartford.

I do not think there would be a single sole upset if Northland profits off of Hartford as they have invested so much in the city. Same thing with Waterford group. Hell I hope they both make a mint, and re-invest some of that mint.

Alkon hudson Steet has been making a mint off of government employees parking, and contributed little more than a pittance in tax dollars. Konover of W Hartford is their mailing add, so I am sure Konover is managing their property. 180 Allen street associates has had it the same. 20 years ago they spent 7 million for 3 Acres of land with hopes of building a massive project. They tabled the project for 2-3 years when the office boom busted, but now 20 years later continue to collect parking fees for over 1000 cars paying roughly 120/month plus all of the bar/club parking. Their revenues have to be nearly 1.5 Million anually. Call it 20+ million over the last 20 years. Now, lets make them give some of it back. Their address by the way is 666 Fifth Ave NY, NY. Likely a law firm.

If Hartford does not take control of it's downtown, these "developers" will just sit back and collect parking fees forever leaving a city unfit for living.

I am adding some stuff to the origonal post today as well.

[The Voice of Reason]

0170 CAPITOL AV HARTFORD STATE OF CONN HIGHWAY DEPT Huge area mostly state owned includes many more 3.6

0223 CAPITOL AV HARTFORD STATE OF CONN PARKING properties. Could become north end sized mixed use 0.862

4.462

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&...c=addr&om=1

This area across the Highway from Aetna has a guge potential, and it could end up being the most valuable piece of land in all of greater Hartford.

The members of this board are in agreement that something needs to be done with 84 thru downtown. Wether it is buried, or re configured into a Blvd, change is necessary. A project of this size is terribly expensive. For a city to float a bond large enough to pay for a highway reconfiguration there needs to be a benefit that is more than just asthetic. Boston is "paying" for the big dig by selling land once used for the surface highways, and collecting tax revenues on these new buildings. What would Hartford have to gain? not much right now, but if momentum continues, or if some of the other infill projects I mentioned above were to happen, The city would have a more healthy tax base to begin with. Additionally, there would be signifigantly less open space to develop making the land under and around the highway much more valuable.

where am I going with this?

Take Bill M's plan for burying the highway and train along the park. he Highlights an area that would immediately become prime for development. If you were to Imagine that as one possibility of what could happen, I urge you to than ask yourself what would then be the glaring eyesore? in this part of town? That would be the Highway dept and parking areas. The Aetna building, The Capitol building, the park, these are all strengths that any city in American would be thrilled to possess. We fail to see how close they are to eachother due to the highway, but with it gone or burried, there is a real opportunity to attract a national developer to this parcel. I only highlighted 2 parcels in this area. in truth there are several and easily 10 acres. that could be included in any bid.

BLAH gotta leave work soon will add more later. clarify the plan and stuff

[The Voice of Reason]

I was looking at the WFSB Building and The Clarion Hotel site over the last few days and I think I have a pretty good Idea for how to best develop that site.

Since the hotel is considerd outdated and the rooms too small, a larger foot print would be needed to bring a modern hotel to the area. The current hotel building is something like 250' X 70' it stands 12 stories tall, and has around 450 rooms. If a hotel was to be built at this location it would need to be wider to accomodate larger rooms.

If you were to take the footprint of WFSB and Clarion you have an area of over 450' X 130'

I would design the ground level as retail, 1st as retail/office, 2nd and 3rd floor office or recreation (think pool/gym) space for the tower covering that 450X130. A total of 40 "Pedestal townhomes" 2700Sq FT would occupy the 4th and 5th floor.

The tower would be North/South oriented, and have nice views on the S, The SE, and the East side of the River and cover approximately 400' X 110'. This would allow condo units to be approximately 1000SQFT and 40 per floor. The tower would begin at the 6th floor and extend 30 stories up from there. About 10 stories of the tower would be hotel allowing for over 500 large modern rooms. The 20 stories remaining would be condos allowing a maximum fo 800 condo units to go with the 40 or so townhomes. This building would bring a huge number of people to an empty part of downtown. It would put another large hotel a short walk from the convention center. It would likely bring a new brand of hotel (Westin,Sheraton etc) into downtown.

Make no mistake this would be an absolutely massive project and not only change the skyline, but reshape the street scape around constitution plaza. With a total height of some 36 stories , and a gross square footage of 1.671 Million this would have a profound economic impact. As I wrote earlier on in this thread I think there is also room for another residential tower as well as a moderate sized office building on the northern edge of Constitution plaza.

Here is a simular project but slightly taller but not as large length wise. Skypoint in Tampa.

[MadVlad]

I was looking at the WFSB Building and The Clarion Hotel site over the last few days and I think I have a pretty good Idea for how to best develop that site.

Since the hotel is considerd outdated and the rooms too small, a larger foot print would be needed to bring a modern hotel to the area. The current hotel building is something like 250' X 70' it stands 12 stories tall, and has around 450 rooms. If a hotel was to be built at this location it would need to be wider to accomodate larger rooms.

If you were to take the footprint of WFSB and Clarion you have an area of over 450' X 130'

I would design the ground level as retail, 1st as retail/office, 2nd and 3rd floor office or recreation (think pool/gym) space for the tower covering that 450X130. A total of 40 "Pedestal townhomes" 2700Sq FT would occupy the 4th and 5th floor.

The tower would be North/South oriented, and have nice views on the S, The SE, and the East side of the River and cover approximately 400' X 110'. This would allow condo units to be approximately 1000SQFT and 40 per floor. The tower would begin at the 6th floor and extend 30 stories up from there. About 10 stories of the tower would be hotel allowing for over 500 large modern rooms. The 20 stories remaining would be condos allowing a maximum fo 800 condo units to go with the 40 or so townhomes. This building would bring a huge number of people to an empty part of downtown. It would put another large hotel a short walk from the convention center. It would likely bring a new brand of hotel (Westin,Sheraton etc) into downtown.

Make no mistake this would be an absolutely massive project and not only change the skyline, but reshape the street scape around constitution plaza. With a total height of some 36 stories , and a gross square footage of 1.671 Million this would have a profound economic impact. As I wrote earlier on in this thread I think there is also room for another residential tower as well as a moderate sized office building on the northern edge of Constitution plaza.

[uconn99]

Great idea. Will it happen like that? Probably never, this is Hartford.

If only Hartford could get a building like that! It would be nice but also look a bit weird mixed into the skyline, it would need a few brothers and sisters to join it.

[drc72]

I was looking at the WFSB Building and The Clarion Hotel site over the last few days and I think I have a pretty good Idea for how to best develop that site.

Since the hotel is considerd outdated and the rooms too small, a larger foot print would be needed to bring a modern hotel to the area. The current hotel building is something like 250' X 70' it stands 12 stories tall, and has around 450 rooms. If a hotel was to be built at this location it would need to be wider to accomodate larger rooms.

If you were to take the footprint of WFSB and Clarion you have an area of over 450' X 130'

I would design the ground level as retail, 1st as retail/office, 2nd and 3rd floor office or recreation (think pool/gym) space for the tower covering that 450X130. A total of 40 "Pedestal townhomes" 2700Sq FT would occupy the 4th and 5th floor.

The tower would be North/South oriented, and have nice views on the S, The SE, and the East side of the River and cover approximately 400' X 110'. This would allow condo units to be approximately 1000SQFT and 40 per floor. The tower would begin at the 6th floor and extend 30 stories up from there. About 10 stories of the tower would be hotel allowing for over 500 large modern rooms. The 20 stories remaining would be condos allowing a maximum fo 800 condo units to go with the 40 or so townhomes. This building would bring a huge number of people to an empty part of downtown. It would put another large hotel a short walk from the convention center. It would likely bring a new brand of hotel (Westin,Sheraton etc) into downtown.

Make no mistake this would be an absolutely massive project and not only change the skyline, but reshape the street scape around constitution plaza. With a total height of some 36 stories , and a gross square footage of 1.671 Million this would have a profound economic impact. As I wrote earlier on in this thread I think there is also room for another residential tower as well as a moderate sized office building on the northern edge of Constitution plaza.

Here is a simular project but slightly taller but not as large length wise. Skypoint in Tampa.

[Chessplayer]

That is a thing of beauty...... OK back to reality.

[The Voice of Reason]

0272 ASYLUM ST HARTFORD MORGAN REED ASYLUM, LLC corner of asylum and Ann 0.429

0300 ASYLUM ST HARTFORD MORGAN REED ASYLUM, LLC corner of asylum and Ann 0.237

0.666

These two adjoining lots totaling .666 Acres are an often overlooked but key piece of downtown. They make up yet another flat parking lot in the center of downtown. This lot is also on the edge of the entertainment district of downtown and is just one block removed from the park. If a residential tower was built here it would have all of the selling points of Hartford 21, but one distinct advantage. Un-obstructed park views above the 4th floor. If given the opportunity I would build a building here that very closely resembled H-21 in scale. The footpring of H-21 and its parking area are nearly identical, and any additional space at this lot would be best used for retail. The key differences is that I would design the lower pedestal to be less steril than H-21 as this is an area filled with brick buildings. I would do my best to include pedestal townhomes (an Idea I really like) like I mentioned in my Clarion hotel idea. Parking would be from Ann Street as would the building lobby. I would have the building designed to optimize the current park view but plan for eventual construction on Hilton lot.

The base of this tower would be 6 floors. The bottom two floors would be retail with at least 2 resturants and one would need to have a bar. I would lure a successful resturant group from Saratoga Springs NY or Northampton MA(Ironhorse) or both to open locations in Hartford. I would use floors 3-4 and 5-6 for the pedestal townhomes making each unit two stories. This would net about 20 townhomes most of wich would have balconies. These lower 6 floors would have a brick exterior or at the very least something complimentary to the brick buildings of the entertainment district. This location should support another 30 or so floors of Condos and Apartments depending on construction costs. with between 8-10 units per floor the building would likely net about 300 units. I would sell the park view units as condos and rent the others. By making it impossible to rent the park views it would encourage people to make the commitment. These units could also demend better prices covering a larger share of construction costs while leaving the other 3/4 of the units to rent and open to sales as demand warrents and waiting lists develop.

The key elements of this building would be the lower 6 floors.

*filling a huge streetscape void

*adding new blood to the entertainment district.

[beerbeer]

I thought I read that the empty lot lot on the corner of Ann and Asylum belong to the Catholic Archdioceses of Hartford.

[The Voice of Reason]

I thought I read that the empty lot lot on the corner of Ann and Asylum belong to the Catholic Archdioceses of Hartford.

[The Voice of Reason]

The Society for savings lot.

[Hiramicus]

I like this plan a lot. I hate seeing that parking lot on Main Street. The area could be so much nicer if they converted those spaces to a garage and did something with that area.

[MichaelQReilly]

The Society for savings lot.

[The Voice of Reason]

Do you really think that we need another cross street here? As currently situated this isn't a particularly long block. I know that downtown suffers from the consolidation of blocks in places like Constitution Plaza, but I'd hate to wreck Pratt Street's continuous facade if we don't have to.

[mikel]

Your plan does not work as those buildings would make lousy corner buildings.

Like I posted before, to the left of Society of Savings was obviously a road or a driveway or developed alleyway of some sort. The building has windows on that side as well. And even today it's a road that leads nowhere.

Sadly I don't recall vividly those buildings, as I was young then, but everytime I see pictures of them or see that parking lot (I walk by it everyday) I feel like vomiting. I work with someone who worked in one of the buildings and told me they were all fully occupied until they were forced to leave by the bank. Bank of America, which is Society for Savings through various mergers, should be forced to rebuild what was lost. I'd love to see that. No designer today could ever come up for a concept for that block that is anywhere as good as what was there before April 1, 1990.

[The Voice of Reason]

Your plan does not work as those buildings would make lousy corner buildings.

Like I posted before, to the left of Society of Savings was obviously a road or a driveway or developed alleyway of some sort. The building has windows on that side as well. And even today it's a road that leads nowhere.

Sadly I don't recall vividly those buildings, as I was young then, but everytime I see pictures of them or see that parking lot (I walk by it everyday) I feel like vomiting. I work with someone who worked in one of the buildings and told me they were all fully occupied until they were forced to leave by the bank. Bank of America, which is Society for Savings through various mergers, should be forced to rebuild what was lost. I'd love to see that. No designer today could ever come up for a concept for that block that is anywhere as good as what was there before April 1, 1990.

[MichaelQReilly]

From your preservatinist perspective, I concede, nothing will be as good as the past. But in my view, and I submit the view of your average person who must face the reality of today, and work with what we have standing(the past can not un-done) things can be improved. it could be said that an effort should be made to preserve the farmers market that once stood here as well. I say, these things are all in the past, so for Hartford to move on, a plan needs to be made to actually make the city better through this single property. I say the city NEEDS new, brand new, modern LEED gold or better office options. I also say the city needs more high density residential. While a mixed use building might make sense, I think there is room for two towers, and if we could get UTC to build and own the world HQ at this site, the city would gain the obvious visable presence anyone could be proud of. Local companies could also take advantage of the office options. The higher quality building will force property owners to invest in the buildings they suck money off in order to compete. By using recycled materials and building historically accurate facades the area will be much improves asthecically.

Sure if you had won the powerball you could build back the buildings that once were there, but what purpose would a 4 story brick building serve? In the real world non descript historic buildings primarily serve the asthetic, and not the functional. The blocks and blocks of historic 3 story multifamilies are a wealth of history and architectural beauty, but they are are not being respected by the Section 8 tennants. or the landlords for that matter.

I just thing that something BIG needs to be done here, but something that attempts to connect the hostoric look of Pratt to the old state house/state house square and Asylum.

The pedestrian street and Pratt for that matter could be turned into some kind of winter garden, but maybe that is a little too bold for Hartford.

if you want a visual for the UTC HQ, think IDC in Minneapolis

You want tourists to come to Hartford?..... pedestrian mall/wintergarden. in an authentic historic new England urban nsetting. Call it a year round "Boston light"