[ginarsnape]

Originally Posted by BPt111

West Hartford is booming .

“New restaurants are popping up in Elmwood Center, along New Park Avenue, at Blue Back Square, West Hartford Center and Bishops Corner. A new 114-room full-service hotel has just opened up and there are now more than 1,400 open-air restaurant seats throughout West Hartford.”

https://www.google.com/amp/www.coura...story,amp.html

Thanks for posting that article!

I am getting read to move to the area and this thread, seeing the differences between Hartford and West Hartford have been very helpful so far. I was thinking of renting in downtown Hartford, but it does not seem like things are really happening there yet. I've seen all those ads for luxury apartments (I live in one now in NYC). But it sounds like West Hartford has more going on, and more community perhaps.

[JayCT]

I was looking for the post made recently where someone was saying downtown Hartford was dead on a weekend night but could not find it. We were downtown for a show at Theaterworks tonight and there were people out and about. It was not midtown Manhattan busy but there were people around. And it was a cold and drizzly night. Not sure what people expect. Jay

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by ginarsnape

Thanks for posting that article!

I am getting read to move to the area and this thread, seeing the differences between Hartford and West Hartford have been very helpful so far. I was thinking of renting in downtown Hartford, but it does not seem like things are really happening there yet. I've seen all those ads for luxury apartments (I live in one now in NYC). But it sounds like West Hartford has more going on, and more community perhaps.

West Hartford does have a lot going on but I believe people perceive more happening there is because West Hartford Center is more compact. It does have one of the best restaurant scenes in the state plus lots of shops. You will pay a premium to live there. Jay

[OyCrumbler]

Are there any plans to develop the several parking lots within a 15 minute walk of Hartford Union Station? It seems like that’d make a big difference in ridership for the coming Hartford Line.

[Lincolnian]

There are many things going on in Hartford all the time. It is a very diverse community and there are a lot of community organizations that are very active. One just has to look and they will find there are a great many things to do for a variety of interests. Additionally, Hartford is a hub. For example, Elizabeth Park is a premiere park. Although much of it is physically located in West Hartford it is a City of Hartford park. A similar situation exists with Keney Park golf course, a premiere golf course located in both Hartford and Windsor. When people bash Hartford and the money they spend they don't realize that many of the benefits extend beyond its physical borders.

[beerbeer]

Parkville Market "food hall." This is an interesting proposal. Like all things Hartford, press releases and reality are two different things but this is a concept that has been successful elsewhere.

It would be steps from the fasttack station, have a rooftop bar and dozens of food stalls. Carlos Mouta owns hundreds of thousands of square feet in the neighborhood and this amenity would support his previous investments. It is the kind of development that adds activity and interest to the city.

Hartford’s Parkville whets developer’s ‘food-hall’ appetite | HartfordBusiness.com

The building is located at 1400 Park Street.

[MrGompers]

There is a new apt building going up next to one of the Fast Track stations in West Hartford or Hartford, I don't remember which, but I think the building is called 616 New Park ?

If the rents were reasonable, that would be a super convenient location for someone working in downtown Hartford.

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by MrGompers

There is a new apt building going up next to one of the Fast Track stations in West Hartford or Hartford, I don't remember which, but I think the building is called 616 New Park ?

If the rents were reasonable, that would be a super convenient location for someone working in downtown Hartford.

New Park isn't exactly oozing ambiance. I'm kind of wondering if you could build enough in that neighborhood to hit critical mass where you have the mixed use space everyone is looking for?

[MikefromCT]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

New Park isn't exactly oozing ambiance. I'm kind of wondering if you could build enough in that neighborhood to hit critical mass where you have the mixed use space everyone is looking for?

New Park Ave has come a long way in the last 15 years. It was never a dangerous, high-crime area, but for years the empty buildings where former manufacturers once stood began to make the street look like an eyesore and it was, for lack of a better phrase, a dump. It’s still not that nice aesthetically, but there’s been a ton of businesses that have popped up lately that’s helped spruce up the area. Not just restauraunts, but bakeries (Hartford Baking Company), grocery stores (including ALDI), gyms (Excel Fitness), even a microbrewery which has been making a killing since the day it opened a year ago. All of this is positive because it’s encouraged people to venture onto a street that previously they had no reason to go to.

The most frustrating thing about NPA is that Malloy has reneged on his pledge to give us a rail stop as part of the New Haven-Springfield rail. We were counting on this and were looking forward to it, and now we’re not getting it. At this point we should be used to this administration hosing us, but this is particularly bad. It would have been a good centerpeice to all this new development, and would have encouraged development to continue.

The biggest question I have re: NPA is what will happen to those empty brownfields when there’s nothing left to build on? Because we’re getting there fast, and there’s a lot of potential if those sapces were de-contaminated and out to use.

[GeoffD]

I use the Indian grocery store on New Park all the time. I’ve never been in that original Hartford Baking Company building. They bake off site in Bloomfield so there isn’t any incentive to drive across town. Their baguette is a pretty good approximation of a real French one. It will be interesting to see if the street evolves.