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One of the problems with a small city like Hartford, and many other small cities with late 60s to early 80s high rise buildings, is that unlike the larger cities the square footage rent often does not cover the true cost of maintaining the high rise. It also prevents new ones from being built. Conversions to housing are a recent interest and may work for some rentals but they do not work well for condominium conversion since the high costs of maintaining a high rise added to the regular costs make it economically unfeasible to purchase compared to other nearby units in low rise, town house style or garden style units. This is why many of the downtown condos have basically been in a price decline over the past 20+ years. With WFH and hybrid models, the desirability and location convenience of a downtown residence declines unless other advantages in living downtown pick up the slack. At this point in time, downtown Hartford still has considerably less activity than preCovid and some businesses are permanently gone.
Conversely, areas bordering the suburbs, like Parkville, are seeing increased activity. However, this is of little value to a downtown dweller, particularly if they do not have a car.
Is it time to honor two of Hartford’s most well known natives, Frederick Law Olmsted and Katherine Hepburn? Some people seem to think so. Frederick Law Olmsted is the father of American Landscape Architecture. He’s best known for being the designer of New York’s Central Park, among many others. Katherine Hepburn is the Academy Award winning actress know for many truly great movies. Both deserve more recognition in the city that they were born in. This opinion piece advocates for naming some of new roadways planned as part of the future I-84 and I-91 reconstruction projects. Sounds good to me. Jay
One of the problems with a small city like Hartford, and many other small cities with late 60s to early 80s high rise buildings, is that unlike the larger cities the square footage rent often does not cover the true cost of maintaining the high rise. It also prevents new ones from being built. Conversions to housing are a recent interest and may work for some rentals but they do not work well for condominium conversion since the high costs of maintaining a high rise added to the regular costs make it economically unfeasible to purchase compared to other nearby units in low rise, town house style or garden style units. This is why many of the downtown condos have basically been in a price decline over the past 20+ years. With WFH and hybrid models, the desirability and location convenience of a downtown residence declines unless other advantages in living downtown pick up the slack. At this point in time, downtown Hartford still has considerably less activity than preCovid and some businesses are permanently gone.
Conversely, areas bordering the suburbs, like Parkville, are seeing increased activity. However, this is of little value to a downtown dweller, particularly if they do not have a car.
My girlfriends son has an actuary internship with a major firm in Hartford. It's hybrid. They aren't going back 100%. They also didn't lower the cost of parking because the parking companies lost so much revenue during the pandemic.
I'm all for higher density living and working but sometimes logistically it might not make sense in much larger buildings. What's the average number of flights of stairs someone will realistically walk before they can't? Now factor in carrying anything, moving, elderly care etc. The elevators must work and frankly elevator inspection is required and inspectors are in short supply. I know of one in Arizona. Even when elevators do work how long is it going to take when you aren't the only one in the building. A half hour? an hour? A fair amount of employers I've been at have had very wide buildings to probably prevent the time for an elevator. A good balance would be making attractions on the bottom and then build up.That way you know the traffic is mostly on the bottom. Say a amazon locker, brew pup, restaurant etc. Some employers can attract by having more but it depends. I was at one that was well known for it. They had a onsite gym, onsite day care, really good cafe/restaurant, drop off film development (20 years ago), if it was a good day they'd bring a mechanic to do oil changes in the parking lot, dry cleaner drop off, company store, area for two local vendors to sell, newstand area etc. I'd argue some of that can still be done but it depends. People aren't going to drive for an hour or more just to get free pretzels.
"Uh, the city can’t control what is done to private property unless it goes against zoning. It can’t prevent non profits from buying property in it either. Jay"
um...yeah and the health code and the building code and the fire code. Inspection is local first regardless of entity. There's a business right down the street from me I could easily have shut down due to fire code violations (blocking point of egress, flammable material, no fire alarms, no fire extinguishers etc). Customers can be eyes and ears to report, we can't assume that inspectors are everywhere at all times.
It can't prevent them from from buying property but some of the planning can certainly create disincentives. Some people want to cluster demographics together (public housing, public transit, food access etc) that's all well and good but clustering poverty doesn't really help. I've seen in Mass as property values increase private owners will go with someone else, government office leave to cheaper rents etc. The Dover amendment has a significant impact https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dover_...20restrictions.
I've seen things look religious but then add housing and there's not much towns can do about it. But at the same point since it is state wide it usually goes to more of the lower cost areas.
My girlfriends son has an actuary internship with a major firm in Hartford. It's hybrid. They aren't going back 100%. They also didn't lower the cost of parking because the parking companies lost so much revenue during the pandemic.
I'm all for higher density living and working but sometimes logistically it might not make sense in much larger buildings. What's the average number of flights of stairs someone will realistically walk before they can't? Now factor in carrying anything, moving, elderly care etc. The elevators must work and frankly elevator inspection is required and inspectors are in short supply. I know of one in Arizona. Even when elevators do work how long is it going to take when you aren't the only one in the building. A half hour? an hour? A fair amount of employers I've been at have had very wide buildings to probably prevent the time for an elevator. A good balance would be making attractions on the bottom and then build up.That way you know the traffic is mostly on the bottom. Say a amazon locker, brew pup, restaurant etc. Some employers can attract by having more but it depends. I was at one that was well known for it. They had a onsite gym, onsite day care, really good cafe/restaurant, drop off film development (20 years ago), if it was a good day they'd bring a mechanic to do oil changes in the parking lot, dry cleaner drop off, company store, area for two local vendors to sell, newstand area etc. I'd argue some of that can still be done but it depends. People aren't going to drive for an hour or more just to get free pretzels.
"Uh, the city can’t control what is done to private property unless it goes against zoning. It can’t prevent non profits from buying property in it either. Jay"
um...yeah and the health code and the building code and the fire code. Inspection is local first regardless of entity. There's a business right down the street from me I could easily have shut down due to fire code violations (blocking point of egress, flammable material, no fire alarms, no fire extinguishers etc). Customers can be eyes and ears to report, we can't assume that inspectors are everywhere at all times.
It can't prevent them from from buying property but some of the planning can certainly create disincentives. Some people want to cluster demographics together (public housing, public transit, food access etc) that's all well and good but clustering poverty doesn't really help. I've seen in Mass as property values increase private owners will go with someone else, government office leave to cheaper rents etc. The Dover amendment has a significant impact https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dover_...20restrictions.
I've seen things look religious but then add housing and there's not much towns can do about it. But at the same point since it is state wide it usually goes to more of the lower cost areas.
I’m not sure what fire code violations have to do with what’s being discussed. You should have reported them though. If there was a fire there, peoples lives are at risk.
What disincentives can a city do? Legally there are none. If they tried they’d be open to a lawsuit. It’s not going to happen.
And once again, Connecticut is not Massachusetts (thankfully). We have our owns laws for this. Maybe you should learn them so you can comment here on them. Jay
Interesting article on a survey of Hartford business leaders on the future of work conditions and Hartford in general. Interestingly the leaders see work from home staying but with limits requiring in office work at least two or three days a week. As a result leaders are also considering reducing their office sizes which could open up some historically Class A office space for conversion to residential use. Not surprising since we’ve had extensive discussions on this before.
There’s also a concern about the vibrancy of downtown and their wish to return to normal work schedules to increase foot traffic n the streets. They see a lot of hope in the city’s Hart Lift program which helps outfit vacant space for new retail and restaurants. They also believe that the city must continue to encourage and approve more new apartments downtown. This all sounds promising. Jay
Interesting article on a survey of Hartford business leaders on the future of work conditions and Hartford in general. Interestingly the leaders see work from home staying but with limits requiring in office work at least two or three days a week. As a result leaders are also considering reducing their office sizes which could open up some historically Class A office space for conversion to residential use. Not surprising since we’ve had extensive discussions on this before.
There’s also a concern about the vibrancy of downtown and their wish to return to normal work schedules to increase foot traffic n the streets. They see a lot of hope in the city’s Hart Lift program which helps outfit vacant space for new retail and restaurants. They also believe that the city must continue to encourage and approve more new apartments downtown. This all sounds promising. Jay
Unfortunately we are now the 3rd summer in since Covid hit and downtown is far from normal. Many restaurants are gone or have significantly reduced hours. Other than when an event is taking place at the XL Center or Yard Goats few people come downtown. The after work crowd is nonexistent. There are a few restaurants with business but it's largely due to the fact that they are the last ones standing.
Converting former office space to residential is not going to do it. Many of the people I know who lived downtown lived there because it was close to work. Many actually purchased/rented units downtown specifically for work and lived elsewhere. Many in this situation have now either sold or rented owned units or not renewed their residential leases.
This problem is not exclusive to downtown Hartford. However, downtown badly needs a draw. UConn helps. A mission which links UConn, Trinity, University of Hartford and other area colleges/universities with a downtown high tech/science/medicine research and development center could create the kind of driver needed to differentiate Hartford from other mid-sized cities in the northeast.
Unfortunately we are now the 3rd summer in since Covid hit and downtown is far from normal. Many restaurants are gone or have significantly reduced hours. Other than when an event is taking place at the XL Center or Yard Goats few people come downtown. The after work crowd is nonexistent. There are a few restaurants with business but it's largely due to the fact that they are the last ones standing.
Converting former office space to residential is not going to do it. Many of the people I know who lived downtown lived there because it was close to work. Many actually purchased/rented units downtown specifically for work and lived elsewhere. Many in this situation have now either sold or rented owned units or not renewed their residential leases.
This problem is not exclusive to downtown Hartford. However, downtown badly needs a draw. UConn helps. A mission which links UConn, Trinity, University of Hartford and other area colleges/universities with a downtown high tech/science/medicine research and development center could create the kind of driver needed to differentiate Hartford from other mid-sized cities in the northeast.
Some people just like city life. The urban experience is the draw. That life style has been particularly popular with younger people. In the Hartford area, downtown is one of the few (relatively) safe areas in the region that fits that description. Not everyone lives there to be close to work. Many want to be close to not only the restaurants/bars, but also the cultural attractions that very few other towns in the region have: world class art museum, performing arts venues, cultural events. Honestly, having more residents than workers in downtown is better. You need people there all the time. The market is still building new apartments downtown, so developers see something in the neighborhood's future. Yes, covid was tough, but things will come back. Actually, it appears we might be in the adjustment phase now. Downtown is transforming from an employment center to a mixed-use center. As a result of that transformation we will see a number of restaurants and stores (which catered mostly to commuters) close. But eventually, downtown's residential population will reach a critical mass of residents to allow new types of businesses to sustain themselves, like grocery stores. This trend started before covid and will continue after. And it's a good thing it will, because once Hartford's downtown is weaned off its economic dependency on workers, it will be a much more robust area.
Anyone know why Northland is putting up a bunch of their Hartford properties for sale? I thought they were the largest property owner in Hartford? Possible they are unloading to make larger Hartford purchases?
Anyone know why Northland is putting up a bunch of their Hartford properties for sale? I thought they were the largest property owner in Hartford? Possible they are unloading to make larger Hartford purchases?
They also refinanced their biggest asset in Hartford, the Hartford 21 tower. According to this article on Hartford Business Journal website, they are refocusing on their core business which is multi family housing and mixed use buildings. I’m guessing that they may be finally preparing to redevelop their largest unused asset, the old YMCA on Jewell Street overlooking Bushnell Park downtown. That site calls for an iconic, and expensive, development so they may want to cash in on other assets to better position themselves for that project. Jay
What disincentives can a city do? No one will actually really admit to it but with zoning it doesn't necessarily mean that the economic feasibility is there. I'm not advocating for spot zoning but if you look at any community in the country you can easily find areas where you're not going to find economic activity. For example if you look at much of Southern Vermont is parks on a state or federal level or forests. Since you can't develop those areas it's severely restricts where you can develop. Outside of Brattleboro is not a whole lot in southern Vermont.
Also keep in mind when you have a contract it's subject to the laws within the contract not necessarily physical boundaries. Credit card companies work on interest rate laws based out of North Dakota and have since the 1970s. So yes Massachusetts can pertain to Connecticut if it says that in the contract. Look up Marquee National Bank vs first of Omaha Services Corporation case 1978. The Lex loci rule states that the place where you can apply interest wherever you make the loan. So up some Bank in Connecticut at a 5% interest that's where the decision was made the bank couldn't charge more than 5% even if it was to some other state. If Connecticut had a 30% interest rate you could charge 30% even to any other state. This is why credit card interest rates are much higher than other rates, they all moved to North Dakota where it's perfectly legal under the court decision. Small towns in Connecticut cannot bypass actual Supreme Court laws. There are plenty of businesses and amounts of Commerce within the state of Connecticut that are operating out of out of state laws and there's nothing local government can do about it because the contract has been agreed by multiple parties. No contract is going to enable litigation in multiple jurisdictions because it would make it extremely vague and open to interpretation to open it up to more litigation and not actually reach an agreeable solution.
Getting back to Hartford I think that there still is some other development that needs to be done. I was recently at the farmers market which is nice but it still needs significant development. It needs to be paved and parking needs to be simplified, vendors need to put prices on items or basic signs and you could seriously expand it to something on a grander scale
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