2.8-acre site south of Hartford’s Bushnell Park targeted for up to $130M development

Michael Puffer

A2.8-acre parking lot just south of Hartford’s Bushnell Park is being targeted for $90 million to $130 million in development. 

Four private sector teams have submitted competing visions for the 730-space parking lot at 165 Capitol Ave., adjacent to a recently renovated state office building. 

The proposals were submitted to the Capital Region Development Authority before a deadline of last Friday, responding to a request for proposals from the agency. 

The development teams hail from Connecticut, Boston, New York and North Carolina. Two have prior development experience in Hartford and all have mixed-use development experience, according to Michael Freimuth, CRDA’s executive director. 

“We have four really good teams,” Freimuth said. 

The target site is part of the larger, roughly 12-acre “Bushnell South” development area. A master plan for the broader area envisions a vibrant neighborhood of 1,800 residents, along with retail, arts and cultural offerings.

The four responses to CRDA’s request for proposals are variations on a theme set down for that site in the master plan, Freimuth said. Each proposed about 300 units of multifamily housing and roughly 25,000 square feet of retail space, he said.

Freimuth said a selection team could pick a development partner before the close of summer.

The submitted proposals are not set in stone, but rather examples of design vision. They can be adjusted, Freimuth said. The selection team will also weigh respondents’ capabilities and experience.

“We would prefer to form a partnership with a qualified group, then devise the project and the program from that,” Freimuth said.

The larger Bushnell South redevelopment plan includes Spinnaker Real Estate Partners’ $63.3 million redevelopment of a former state office building at 55 Elm St., which sits near the eastern edge of the development zone. Spinnaker plans to create 278 apartments, as well as retail on that site, according to the master plan.

The master plan also shows Spinnaker eventually building another 456 housing units on parking lots just south of 55 Elm St.

Separately, state officials are reviewing proposals submitted through another process for the redevelopment of historic buildings at 18-20 Trinity St. and 30 Trinity St. 

Dakota Partners closes on Newington property for 108-unit apartment development

Andrew Larson

AMassachusetts-based developer, Dakota Partners, has closed on its ninth project in Connecticut, a multifamily development that is expected to fill an affordable housing void in Newington.

The company earlier this month purchased the property at  550 Cedar St., from Stop & Shop for $1.7 million.

Cedar Pointe will consist of 108 residential units that will be constructed in two phases. In phase one, Dakota will build 72 units in two garden-style buildings, along with a community center. 

Dakota received $1.9 million in tax credits for the transit-oriented project on Cedar Street, which is near the town’s CTfastrak bus station. 

The apartments will include a mix of income-restricted and market-rate units. Currently, less than 10% of Newington’s housing stock is considered affordable.

The one- and two-bedroom apartments will meet passive house standards for energy efficiency, requiring little energy for heating or cooling, the developer said.

Phase two of construction is expected to begin by early 2023 and will be financed separately. It will include an additional 36-unit building.

The property, which is a brownfield, will undergo an environmental remediation before construction begins. The original buildings on-site have been demolished and the property is currently vacant.

Since 2014, Dakota has built affordable housing across the state including in Hartford, New Milford, Suffield and Griswold. Its existing eight communities in Connecticut house more than 500 residents. 

Dakota is a landlord-developer that builds affordable, workforce and market-rate housing across New England, New York and the mid-Atlantic states. 

The company expects the construction cost to be $18.7 million and the total development cost to be $29.4 million.

The development also hasn’t been without controversy. It was denied in 2018 by the town’s planning board over safety concerns. A judge overturned the decision.