Bond Commission set to approve $340.2M for projects, including Founders Plaza redevelopment
Andrew Larson
The State Bond Commission is expected to approve $340.2 million in funding for projects across the state when it meets Friday morning.
The agenda includes a $6.5 million request for abatement and demolition of buildings at Founders Plaza in East Hartford, including the former McCartin School and three adjacent buildings.
A developer has proposed a mixed-use project that includes hundreds of apartments, along with new restaurants, entertainment, office space and passive recreation.
The commission is also set to redirect about $7 million previously allocated for redevelopment of East Hartford’s Silver Lane and Rentschler Field corridor for construction of new apartments at the former Showcase Cinema site. At least 300 units are planned for the 25-acre site.
The agenda also includes $4.85 million earmarked for renovations to the state Capitol complex, including skywalk upgrades, hearing room renovations, carpeting, technology upgrades, and other improvements and repairs.
The commission is also expected to approve $9 million for the Department of Economic and Community Development’s Small Business Boost Fund - formerly known as the Small Business Express Program – which includes establishing at least one minority business revolving loan fund.
The loans can be used by eligible small businesses for acquisition or purchase of machinery and equipment, construction or leasehold improvements, relocation expenses, working capital, loan guarantees, loan portfolio guarantees, portfolio insurance and grants.
Loans from the minority business revolving loan fund range from $10,000 to $500,000, with a maximum interest rate of 4%, for a term of up to 10 years.
The commission will also consider a $30 million request to provide supplemental financing for redevelopment and upgrades to the State Pier in New London. The plan is to create a modern, heavy-lift port through a public-private partnership.
To address the ongoing shortage of affordable housing, the agenda includes $20 million to finance loans for housing projects and programs under the Housing Trust Fund. The funds would go toward the Time To Own first-time homebuyer assistance Program.
The program provides zero-interest loans of up to 25% of the cost of a home, up to $50,000.
The agenda also includes $1.5 million for a mixed-use development on vacant Hartford-owned land on Albany Avenue between Magnolia and Irving streets. The property was previously slated to receive funds to create a neighborhood park, but the money would be redirected.
Also, the DECD requested $4.6 million for small programs and administrative costs under the Economic Development and Manufacturing Assistance Act. Another $750,000 requested by DECD would provide a grant-in-aid to the Eastern Connecticut Chamber of Commerce to move its headquarters to downtown New London.
CT hands out millions of dollars to redevelop, clean up sites in Bristol, Bridgeport, New Haven
Jesse Leavenworth
The state is distributing $23.8 million in grants and loans to clean up and revive former industrial sites in Bristol, Bridgeport, New Haven, Fairfield and other towns.
The brownfields remediation funding affects 480 acres on 22 properties in 15 communities, including Bridgeport, New Haven and Bristol, where a shuttered steel plant is targeted for renewal.
“It makes no sense to have old, polluted, blighted properties sitting vacant for decades when we could be using this land to grow new businesses and create new housing,” Gov. Ned Lamont said of the funding released through the state Department of Economic and Community Development. “This state program enables us to partner with municipalities and developers to bring these lifeless properties back from the dead.”
Meant to boost economic development and job growth, the projects are expected to create about 915 jobs and 811 units of housing, including 223 affordable units, state officials said. About 61 percent of the funding ($14.5 million) is going to distressed municipalities, where development sites are often scarce and economic renewal efforts take on added importance, according to a state news release
“Our brownfields program is one the best returns on investment for the state and its taxpayers,” DECD Deputy Commissioner Rob Hotaling said. “In this funding round, for example, we have a public-private leverage ratio of 1-to-36, which means that for every state dollar invested, another $36 in private funds are supporting these worthwhile projects."
In Bristol, a $3.8 million grant will go to clean up four buildings on a 23-acre site at 300 Broad St., formerly home to Theis Precision Steel Manufacturing, state officials said. The project is meant to create 100,000 square feet of clean industrial space for light manufacturing, office administration and storage/distribution.
Theis closed shop in Bristol in 2019 and Stillman International Development bought it last year for $1 million. The grant money will go through the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments, which engages licensed environmental professionals for brownfields projects, NVCOG Executive Director Rick Dunne said. The regional agency's brownfields manager, Ricardo Rodriguez, said cleanup will include areas affected by heavy metals and removal of soil containing PCBs, chemicals widely used in manufacturing until they were banned in 1979. The federal Environmental Protection Agency labels PCBs probable carcinogens. Also, oil storage tanks are to be removed, Rodriguez said.
The grant and cleanup is "huge news," Bristol economic and community development Director Justin Malley said Monday. From an economic development standpoint, Malley noted the site's size and proximity to Route 72. The cleanup, he said, also benefits the community's health, "so it checks all the boxes."
“The money received represents one of the more significant awards that has been facilitated by the city’s economic development team and NVCOG," Mayor Jeffrey Caggiano said. "This is yet another great example of teamwork and moving projects forward for Bristol. The property at 300 Broad Street offers an opportunity at this very large industrial space, which has been vacant since 2019, to now be cleaned and used to create new jobs.”
Other projects to be funded include:
Bridgeport will receive a $990,000 loan to clean up the former Southern New England Telephone Company offices on John Street. The project aims to create a77 artist lofts, two restaurants with gallery space and an electric vehicle charging station.
Fairfield will receive a $3 million grant to remediate the former Bullard Machine Tool Company site on Black Rock Turnpike. The project is a transit-oriented, mixed-use development to include 240 residential units, retail and co-working space.
New Haven is set to receive a $4 million grant to complete demolition and remediation of 156 Dixwell Ave. to enable redevelopment of ConnCAT Place headquarters, Hill Health Center clinic, a day care facility, 184 rental housing units (20% affordable), an office building, townhouses and a performing arts center.
New Haven will receive a $999,999 loan for abatement and remediation of the 5.97-acre former nursing home facility located at 34 Level St. to be redeveloped into a 50-unit, elderly supportive housing development.
North Haven is set to receive a $4 million grant to clean up soils at 250 Universal Drive to support construction of a waste reclamation facility and a carbon negative power plant.
Norwalk will receive a $1.3 million grant to clean up the city-owned South Norwalk Station parking lot at 30 Monroe St. to develop a 200-unit mixed-use and mixed-income transit-oriented development.
Winsted receives a $128,500 grant to remediate the 0.78-acre property of the former Winsted Centerless Company factory at 10 Bridge St. for potential mixed-use development.
New Haven gets $25 million grant to create bus rapid transit system with 18 new stops
Chatwan Mongkol,
NEW HAVEN — When Kai Addae first moved to the city in 2016, she was less than impressed with the transportation system.
"I don't own a car," she said. "It was really hard to get around. It was hard to get to my doctor's office in West Haven. I was late to work trying to ride the bus multiple times."
But now, Addae is excited: a bus rapid transit system, with new stops and bus hubs, is coming to the city, officials announced Thursday.
The project includes creating 18 new stops and four mini-hubs and the procurement of 15 new electric buses. There also will be a dedicated bus-only guideway and traffic signal priority buses, according to officials.
Members of the city's federal delegation and local officials announced a $25 million federal grant to help build a new BRT system in New Haven at the Dixwell Q House Thursday. The federal grant will be combined with other grants to complete the $115 million project, according to state Transportation Commissioner Garrett Eucalitto.
The New Haven project that was based on the 2019 Move New Haven transit study will include about 11 miles of BRT system corridor along four heavily traveled roads, data from the Department of Transportation shows. Those corridors are Grand, Dixwell, Whalley and Congress avenues.
Eucalitto said the dedicated bus lanes, which state DOT spokesperson later confirmed will be shared with regular vehicles, will be the first in Connecticut. They will include "traffic signal prioritization" that will turn green when a bus approaches to allow the bus to continue on through the intersection.
Some notable bus stops for the new system includes Strong School, Fair Haven Community Health Clinic, ConnCAT Place at Dixwell, Square 10, Union Station and St. Luke's, officials said.
The four mini-hubs will feature shelters, seating and real-time passenger information. Those hubs will be on Whalley Avenue in Westville, Grand Avenue in Fair Haven, Dixwell Avenue near Putnam Avenue in Hamden and Campbell Avenue/Main Street in West Haven.
According to the 2019 study, the route between New Haven and Hamden will be about 11 minutes faster and the route between New Haven and West Haven will be about 18 minutes faster.
Eucalitto said the state DOT and the city are working closely on the design phase, hoping to start construction in 2026 with a plan to fully open the routes in 2029.
In terms of how much riders will be expected to pay, Eucalitto said it's still early in the process to determine that but he expects it to be the same price with local buses, similar to CT Fastrak in Hartford and New Britain.
Josh Morgan, the state DOT spokesperson, these bus routes represent about 50 percent of bus traffic in New Haven. He said the DOT doesn't have an estimate of how many riders officials are expecting to utilize the BRT system, but said there are about 8 million riders in the New Haven region.
U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-3, said the project stemmed from a DataHaven report in 2014 that shed light on how lack of reliable transportation is a barrier to employment. She said while downtown New Haven is an important hub for jobs, many entry- or mid-level jobs are outside the city.
"Public transportation is a major priority for hard-working families," DeLauro said.
The main goals of the project are to make the bus system in New Haven "cleaner, safer, healthier and speedier," according to U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal. He said public transit makes all a difference when it comes to jobs and health.
"Bus transportation used to be the common way that people got around in big cities," Blumenthal said. "It will be again."
Mayor Justin Elicker noted that these corridors are also located in historically "under-resourced" neighborhoods.
With the BRT project in New Haven that would connect the suburbs, an existing Metro North line to New York and Amtrak trains to Boston, Gov. Ned Lamont said "New Haven is going to be the center of the universe."
The grant announced Thursday is a part of the Department of Transportation’s $2.2 billion Rebuilding America Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity Discretionary Grant Program, which awarded 162 projects across the country in total.
Besides New Haven, other Connecticut municipalities including in New London, Hartford and Fairfield and Litchfield counties also received the RAISE grant for infrastructure projects.
Groton approves region’s first data center regulations
Kimberly Drelich
Groton ― The town’s Planning and Zoning Commission on Tuesday unanimously passed regulations to place limits on potential data centers in town in response to concerns from residents over noise and environmental impacts.
The commission approved the proposed regulations, nearly a year in the works, with support from many residents, but over the objections of Gotspace Data Partners, LLC, a company that is seeking to build three large data center buildings off Route 117 and Paulson Road.
About 15 to 20 people spoke Tuesday in favor of the regulations, with most concerned with the impact a large data center might have on the environment and neighborhoods, the town’s Assistant Planning Director Deb Jones told The Day on Wednesday. Two people, associated with companies interested in developing data centers, spoke in opposition, she said.
The regulations, which Jones said are slated to go into effect July 14, limit the size of a data center to 12,500 square feet and stipulate that a data center would conditionally be allowed only in industrial zones in town.
Any data center proposals must meet the state’s noise standards, include a fire suppression plan, and can’t be located within 1,500 feet of a property where another data center is housed. The data centers cannot use fossil fuels, except if power is suddenly lost, and water evaporation techniques cannot be used for cooling.
The regulations conditionally allow accessory data centers, the type of small data centers a business might use for its operations, in all zones, except for green districts. Accessory data centers cannot be larger than 1,000 square feet or larger than 20% of the primary usage on site.
“The proposed regulations address the major public concerns regarding data center size, location, noise level and fossil fuel usage,” resident Carol Oviatt wrote in an email to the town.
Resident Kristen Earls wrote that the regulations “balance appropriately scaled data center allowances and also protect Groton from serious environmental, public health, energy and residential quality of life threats endemic to larger-scale centers.”
Resident Shirley Parsons wrote that she appreciates the regulations’ size limits, attention to noise, limits on how close potential data canters can be near to each other, and prohibiting climate-warming fossil fuel for back-up generation except in emergencies.
“We preserve and protect this beautiful part of the state for present and future generations, as well as for the flora and fauna that cannot speak for themselves,” Parsons wrote. “It is our collective responsibility to do so.”
The Town Council in 2021 approved a community host agreement with Gotspace Data, which is the initial step for a developer looking to build a large-scale data centers. Town Manager John Burt has said the town has not yet received an application and Gotspace also would need to go through the process of purchasing the land.
In 2022, the Town Council turned down an offer for a community host agreement from another developer, NE Edge LLC, who also proposed a large data center.
In a letter, Nicholas Fiorillo, manager of Gotspace Data, called for a “cease and desist” of Tuesday’s agenda item and wrote that the town is “clearly looking to derail the Plaintiffs development of data campuses that are proposed on its data campus sites.”
Fiorillo said by phone Wednesday that Groton has executed a community host agreement and power-purchase agreement to allow the construction of hyper-scale data centers larger than 12,500 square feet. He accused Groton of attempting to repeal the agreements with Gotspace Data by blocking development of data centers by limiting their size.
He said Gotspace plans to comply with the state’s sound attenuation requirements and would be willing to provide hydrogen-powered backup generators, instead of diesel fossil fuel powered generators, to limit the environmental impacts if a facility were to lose power from the grid.
Fiorillo said he plans to appeal the commission’s decision. An appeal would be heard in state Superior Court.
First wind industry turbine towers arrive at New London’s State Pier
VIDEO CLICK HERE
Lee Howard
New London ― The cargo ship Trina arrived at Adm. Harold E. Shear State Pier from Denmark Wednesday morning, ready to offload 16 huge tower pieces that will be used to assemble Ørsted’s first four wind turbines.
The German ship is the third to arrive in the city related to the new wind industry that’s just ramping up here. Its arrival marks the first time that the 200-ton tower sections, each measuring 65 to 100 feet long, had been transported to the terminal.
The towers will be a major component of the turbine assembly to be overseen by Danish wind power company Ørsted that is expected to be in full swing within the next few months. The business is technically still a partnership between Ørsted and Eversouce Energy, though Eversource is in the process of selling its interest.
Huge cranes hoisted the towers off the cargo ship, and two to three dozen workers with the Local 1411 Longshoremen’s Association were on site to accomplish the task, which was expected to take two days.
“This is a historic moment not only for southeastern Connecticut and Connecticut but for the country,” said Ulysses Hammond, interim executive director for the Connecticut Port Authority, as he watched workers prepare to offload the cargo.
Prior to the offloading, workers had to wait for inspections of the ship by the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Customs and Border Inspection personnel. Hammond said inspectors were checking to make sure there were no unauthorized people aboard and that the cargo matched the ship manifests.
Another ship with more turbine parts is expected in about three weeks, Hammond added.
“All of the assembly is going to take place right here,” Hammond said as he surveyed the 40-acre site. “Watching one of these get assembled is an amazing thing.”
State Rep. Anthony Nolan, D-New London, who stopped by to see the offloading, marveled at the huge cranes dotting the State Pier site.
“It’s such a visual to have these size cranes here,” he said to Hammond. “These are some of the biggest cranes you’re ever going to see.”
Nolan admitted to some hesitancy about the $255 million project that has seen huge cost overruns, but said he is hopeful other uses for the terminal (such as a plan to send heavy-lift cargo from here to all over the world) will help offset the higher costs.
“I was trying to keep the faith, but every so often that faith was messed up by (asking for) more money,” Nolan said.
“People are talking about the project (costs), but not about the promise,” Hammond replied. “That’s what brought me here.”
Last month, the first wind components were offloaded from the Claude A. Desgagnes cargo ship; not long after, the Billie brought in similar components required to set up the State Pier site for wind turbine assembly.
While the Connecticut Port Authority had previously expected to greet the arrival of the first large wind turbine parts with a major event and speeches by dignitaries, Hammond said current plans are to celebrate in August or September.
That’s when the first completed towers are expected to be ready for installation at the South Fork Wind project 35 miles east of Montauk Point, serving East Hampton, N.Y.
Major West Hartford intersection overhaul to cost $5.6 million
Michael Walsh
WEST HARTFORD — State officials are planning changes to the Bishops Corner intersection at North Main Street and Albany Avenue, citing that the area is "unfavorable for pedestrian travel."
The proposal, which will be covered in detail at a July 13 virtual public meeting, would remove the channelized right turn lanes and the pedestrian medians that accompany them.
"The purpose of the project is to improve pedestrian mobility and overall operations at the intersection," reads a description of the project on the state Department of Transportation's website. "The deficiencies with current pedestrian facilities, undesirable geometry and traffic congestion make this area unfavorable for pedestrian travel."
After the removal of the channelized right turn lanes and the elimination of the islands, the state will relocate all pedestrian push buttons to the corners of the intersection. The state will also install new traffic signals and sidewalk ramps as part of the process.
"Relocating the pedestrian push buttons and eliminating the islands will allow pedestrians to cross directly from one side of the road to the other, providing the shortest crossing distance," the state's description of the project said.
The state's efforts to improve pedestrian safety in West Hartford comes as the town embarks on its own Vision Zero process to do the same. The town took the Vision Zero pledge in January after experiencing six roadway deaths — three of those being pedestrians who were struck by cars — in 2022. Vision Zero looks to eliminate all roadway fatalities and serious injuries within the next 10 years.
Town leaders and its Vision Zero task force are currently working with two consultants to devise an action plan by the end of this year that will guide roadway safety enhancements. The town is also working with another consultant to create a West Hartford Center Infrastructure Master Plan that will guide changes to streets, sidewalks, intersections, bike lanes and more in the center of town.
The estimated cost of the Bishops Corner intersection overhaul is $5,585,050, the state said. The process also includes minor property acquisitions and easements to facilitate some of the sidewalk reconstruction and traffic signal equipment. Construction is expected to begin in the summer of 2025. Funding is expected to be made up of 80 percent federal funding and 20 percent state funding.
The July 13 meeting, which guests who wish to participate must register for, will include an open discussion about the project and feature a question and answer session at the end of the meeting. The meeting will also be livestreamed on YouTube.
Showcase Cinema in East Hartford among area projects getting state bonding
Eric Bedner
A multi-million-dollar allocation for a housing project at the former Showcase Cinema site in East Hartford is set to be approved by the state Bond Commission, as is funding for Vernon, South Windsor, Windsor Locks, and other area towns.
Commission members are expected to approve the allocations at their meeting on Friday.
In June of 2018, the Bond Commission approved nearly $7 million for the redevelopment of property in the Silver Lane and Rentschler Field corridor in East Hartford.
If approved on Friday, that funding would be shifted to support the construction of new residential units at the former Showcase Cinema site.
East Hartford is also set to receive $6.5 million in grants for the abatement and demolition of buildings adjacent to the Founders Plaza on East River Drive.
A $72.5 million agenda item would provide grants for various development projects, including $750,000 in grants for the replacement of playscapes at East Hartford elementary schools, and about $1.6 million in grants to Vernon for the construction of sanitary sewers and a pump station in the surrounding area of Exits 66 and 67 off of Interstate 84 in Vernon.
As part of the same allocation, South Windsor would receive a $1.3 million grant to replace the centralized odor control system at its Water Pollution Control facility, and Tolland would get a $1 million grant for capital improvements to the Tolland Fire Department.
A total of $4.65 million for various Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection buildings is also on the table, $950,000 of which would go towards renovations and improvements to the Connecticut Fire Academy in Windsor Locks.
A $125,000 agenda item would reimburse three police departments for the purchase of body cameras, dash cameras, and video storage devices.
East Windsor would get about $16,500 and Vernon about $106,000.
Area prisons would also receive a portion of a total of $13.2 million for alterations, renovations, and improvements.
The Osborn Correctional Institution in Somers is slated to get $10 million for the first phase of door and window replacements, and the Robinson Correctional Institution in Enfield would receive $250,000 for heating replacements.
Friday's agenda also includes $30 million to reimburse towns for the cost of various projects, including roads, sidewalks, water or sewer lines, and public parks and housing, among others.
Commission members are also expected to approve $20 million to finance loans for first-time home buyers, $9 million for small business loans, and $30 million for the State Pier in New London.
Vacant parcels next to North Haven Amazon site sell for $6M; new development eyed
Hanna Snyder Gambini
Two vacant parcels in a prime development area of North Haven have been sold for a combined $6 million.
The properties at 405 and 417-425 Washington Ave., sit directly adjacent to the new Amazon fulfillment center, and are some of the last open parcels along the commercial stretch of Washington Avenue, Route 5.
The 9.1-acre parcel at 417-425 Washington Ave., sold for $4.25 million. The smaller 3.3-acre parcel at 405 Washington Ave., sold for $1.75 million.
Both properties were owned by CRA NH LLC, an affiliate of New York-based Rabina Properties and Maidad Rabina, to LGID NY LLC and principal Elchonon Shilian of Brooklyn, New York, in a deal recorded June 23.
Rabina also sold the 168-acre Amazon site when the fulfillment center was built in 2019. The sale of these two parcels mark the last property Rabina owns in the area, North Haven First Selectman Michael J. Freda said.
Frank Hird, a broker for Branford-based OR&L, which had the listing, said the two parcels are prime for development in the industrial zone, which allows for uses such as hotels, retail, and mixed use.
Shilian has not laid out any plans yet for the property, but Freda said he is working with the new owner to finalize development ideas.
“There will be something new and exciting there,” Freda said, adding that no apartments will be built on that site.
Development ideas include restaurants, commercial buildings and a hotel, he said.
The sale marks a major milestone in the economic development strategy Freda has been building for years, he said, and the sale came after years of demolishing buildings and site remediation preparing for the project.
“This is the culmination of four years worth of effort to try to bring this to this stage,” Freda said.
Any development plans will have to go through the land use application process.
CT Construction Digest Wednesday June 28, 2023
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Seymour road project could clear way for 200-acre, Quarry Walk-like development
Donald Eng
SEYMOUR — A plan to develop more than 200 acres got closer to realty with the recent announcement of $3 million in federal community project funding.
But U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., said the money to build an access road connecting two Valley towns is about so much more than pavement. It's about access to a better life.
"Every day there's an article in the paper about the housing crisis affecting families," DeLauro, who represents the 3rd District, said at a press conference inside Seymour Town Hall Tuesday.
The planned two-mile road connecting Route 67 in Seymour and Route 42 in Beacon Falls, DeLauro said, would open up access to a future development similar to the nearby Quarry Walk in Oxford, which was built on the site of the former Haynes Stone Quarry, and includes a mix of retail, light industrial and residential use.
Tom Haynes, whose company Haynes Construction built Quarry Walk, called the planned 220-acre development on the Seymour, Beacon Falls line a blank canvas where the company could apply the lessons learned at Quarry Walk.
"That project was 30 acres," Haynes said. Construction involved creating a separate company with 300 employees, he said. Since completion, the site now includes retail, restaurants, housing, offices and a 30,000-square-foot medical building.
"That project now has over 2,000 jobs, the majority of which didn't exist before," he said.
The 220-acre site would also have the additional advantages of a location along the Naugatuck River with access to the Waterbury rail line.
Construction along the rail line makes economic sense, said Rick Dunne, executive director of the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments.
"The least expensive, most efficient way to move people is by rail," he said. "We need to build affordability around transportation."
Haynes said he envisioned a mix of market-rate housing and other more affordable options, dubbed "workforce" housing.
"We intend to have a lot of housing that anyone would want to live in, and mixed in with an entire community," he said.
In addition to affordable housing, David Morgan, CEO of Valley-based TEAM Inc., said transportation options, such as a rail line, within walking distance would be an added boost by reducing commuting cost. Workers could either live near their workplace or use the train to commute.
The bottom line though, is an increase in housing options, he said.
"All roads lead to housing," he said. "We need to address housing if we're truly going to have an economic boom."
Bronin eyes tax deal for Parkville mixed-use development
Hanna Snyder Gambini
artford Mayor Luke Bronin is proposing a tax agreement between the city and a major city developer to facilitate a new Parkville area mixed-use project.
Bronin has requested the city council authorize him to enter into a tax-fixing agreement, purchase and sales agreement, development agreement, and ground lease for 17 Bartholomew Ave.
The underutilized downtown parking lot is owned by Carlos Mouta of 17-35 Bartholomew Avenue LLC, who is seeking a public/private partnership with the city in his vision for a $16.72 million mixed-use development in the Parkville Arts & Innovation District.
The district has been identified as one of the city’s 10 transformative project areas with an eye toward building on “existing assets to create a more sustainable, prosperous, equitable and vibrant community within the Parkville Neighborhood.”
Mouta plans to subdivide the property into two parcels.
The Parcel A project will be partially financed with a $5.5 million CT Communities Challenge grant to help build 57 apartments, 30% of which would be affordable, and first-floor commercial space in a new multi-story building.
Parcel B would become a public parking garage for 350 to 400 vehicles.
Mouta said the support from Bronin and the city for this development “has been amazing.”
“This is a huge project,” Mouta said. “We need housing, and this helps toward that goal. And it comes with a parking garage, which is really going to help businesses around there, including the Parkville Market.”
Parcel A will require a 15-year tax abatement, the details of which were not disclosed because Mouta and city officials are still finalizing the terms, he said.
The agreement could start with Mouta paying 35% the first year, with that percentage increasing annually until the full tax amount is paid out by year 15, he said.
The city would take ownership of Parcel B and enter into a development agreement and long-term lease of the parking garage that has Mouta and the city splitting parking revenues 50-50.
Residents of the Bartholomew apartments could buy spaces, and visitors could pay a daily rate, Mouta said.
Mouta said parking is imperative to the success of new and existing businesses in the Parkville Market area.
The development is designed to maximize use of the adjacent CTfastrak station, while building upon the recent successes of the Parkville Arts and Innovation District initiative.
The proposed tax fixing and development agreements for both parcels “will result in the development of an underutilized surface lot within a prominent and heavily traveled corridor, produce additional mixed affordable housing units, provide district-wide parking, and create long-term revenue to the city in the form of PILOT payments from Parcel B,” according to a city resolution.
The development deal also requires Mouta to comply with the Hartford Affirmative Action Plan, minority contractor hiring and living wage mandates.
The agreement will go to a public hearing July 17. Mouta said he’d like to see a groundbreaking by the end of the year.