MichaelQReilly

http://touch.courant.com/#section/2225/article/p2p-79756898/ Boom. Let's change this thread to "in progress." This one has the potential to be a game changer. This is ground zero for downtown and should have a ripple effect once it's on-line.

Great look. I'm pumped.

I saw this the other day. I'm surprised we haven't seen this reported anywhere else. https://twitter.com/crdact/status/410158913305067520

This area of town gets enough foot traffic on weekdays that retail should work here.

Anyone know what this whole project means for that weird extension off the back along Pearl Street? I always thought that it would be nice to reconnect that little street behind this building that looks like it used to go all the way through to Asylum, but something would have to be done to reconfigure the part on the back of the BOA building in order to make it work.

Great news. I have to admit that there were times I was skeptical that this would ever happen. This could really shape up to be a beautiful area of the city once everything is done.

I went today. The theaters themselves are beautiful. We got there too late to eat at the restaurant, but that looked pretty good. It seems like they might be getting some of the kinks out still, but overall it looked very nice.

This is all tremendous news, obviously. Now the attention needs to turn quickly to getting phase two built. It would be a shame if these great tenants are unable to make it because half the project is still incomplete, effectively cutting off Front St. from Main St., the Wadsworth, etc.

http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/editorials/hc-ed-hartford-home-incentive-program-20120606,0,2301521.story We have been calling for a program like this forever. There is no reason this should have taken so long.

This all sounds very promising. One thing that I don't quite understand (and this is probably why I'm not a real estate developer) is between all the subsidies this project has and the strong rental market downtown, how there aren't banks lining up to fund the next phase of the project. Seems like a no-brainer to me.

I don't think the buses are quite that bad. In 2007 I was working downtown and didn't need my car to leave work for the day. For a couple of months I took the express bus in and out from Glastonbury. I was pleasantly surprised with the experience. If I didn't need to travel during the work day, I would definitely still use the bus. The intra city buses are another story. I've never used those.

I love this project. To many of us in the greater Hartford area there is no good movie theater close by. Usually when I go to the movies I get stuck going to the sprawling hell that is Manchester. Once this theater opens there is no question that it will be my movie theater of choice.

Yes, the recent paper version. I'm not sure exactly who operates the lab. It is the one that is behind the DEP.

Exactly. This location is essentially "ground zero" for downtown. 500 or so residents there can have a huge impact on so many locations throughout the CBD and really tie things together. BTW, on an semi-related note, the most recent Hartford Business Journal has an article about the Bushnell where their director mentions the possibility of the State donating the DPH lab building once it moves to Rocky Hill and the Busnell partnering with a private developer to turn it into housing.

This makes so much sense. Let's hope it happens.

I've been down to the Fairfield Theater Co. several times. It would be great to have that type of venue in the city.

Any rail money is welcome.

This would be the ideal choice, but in the current economy, and considering all of the other empty lots in the city (including the one next door), any full and functioning building is a welcome addition.

It's pretty clear that some extensive renovation of this property will be needed given that it is older and that it has lain dormant for so long. Lets hope the rehab extends to the exterior the building as well. Any changes to the front to make the entrance more pedestrian friendly would really help improve that stretch of Columbus Boulevard.

Hopefully this money can be a small down payment on the residential in phase 2.

With no real prospect of landing a commercial tenant for this building, I don't see why Grunberg wouldn't seriously consider an apartment conversion. All of the recent real-estate developments in downtown have shown that there is pretty high demand for smaller apartments. Why not convert a few floors into 1 bedroom units aimed at younger people and see how they do and if the demand is there convernt a few more floors? How awesome would it be for the city to have a big builing right in the geographic center of downtown filled with young people?

Hopefully, this is one case where the buereaucratic clusterf*ck that is the DOT actually helps us. The longer this project floats in limbo, the more people have realized what a disaster this is. Let's hope that public opinion continues to build against this thing and that the legislature is ultimately forced to step in and kill it.

Well, there's always Linda McMahon for Senate. Her and her husband didn't found the company, but they did make it what it is. The only thing you have to worry about is how a woman who got rich off of dozens of her former employees dying before the age of 55 is going to be bothered to care about the common man.

Apparently CT only requested minimal funding this round

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