beerbeer

Hartford New England International Airport

These flights should have started in the late 90s but the DOT is sooooooooo behind the curve.

I think they are the old plans submitted by Cohen.

Rowland remade this city and deserves to take a bow. You may not like the guy. But there is no denying his touch will be felt in Hartford for decades. The convention center, the science center, Hartford 21, Rentschler Field in East Hartford, have (or will in the case of Front Street) make a huge positive impact in the city. But it's always great to see an unrelentingly negative person mindlessly slamming everything. It's entertaining.

Most colleges have banned wikipedia as a reference for term papers because the information is so bad. It is information created by the on-line users. The only check and balance is other on-line users. Wikipedia has quite an extensive page on bigfoot presenting the pro and cons.

This is a huge boost for the area. The non-stop Europe fight is ahead of projected booking which is very good news. Now, let's get the airport out of the hands of the DOT and into the hands of adults.

It might be a bad practice but it's the way the world works.

Hartford is the one of many cities using seed money. It is a common practice. In fact, mid-tier cities like Hartford need to use seed money to compete. It's one of the smarter things the city has done.

They're waiting for the Bond Hotel to open.

No downtown in America is 100% crime free. NONE. It's a good goal but not a realistic expectation.

New HBJ article - http://hartfordbusiness.com/news1475.html "For those developers who report they are working on deals to bring retailers to downtown, it is proving to be a long, arduous task."

Even Blueback is a gamble, it's just a fairly safe one. What Asylum/Trumbull offers is a daytime population that dwarfs any suburb, a growing residential population and a growing number of hotel guests. Given those trends, at some point it the demographics should make sense for retail. For the developers and business owners it comes down to timing. Mayor Mike's, Red Plate and Tapas on Ann got there early and are thriving. Those places were a net increase. One thing is certain, it is a very interesting time in the city.

What's wrong with that when the alternative is an empty field?

West Hartford is an affluent community with an already bustling center. It is a very easy sell. What Larry G. is doing downtown is many times harder. One would have to be a complete idiot not to see the difference.

There is bound to be some repositioning of retail stores as the population of downtown shifts towards the city center. Trumbull on the Park is 80% rented, H21 is 30% rented, more than half of the 78 Sage Allen lofts are already rented and American Plaza across the street from Sage Allen looks to be opening in some capacity in the summer or fall. This activity pushes the residential population center of downtown north up Main Street. Some shifting of retail will take place. I don't think the residents of the Linden will be without a place to buy liquor for very long. Spritus has proven that the location can be successful, someone will fill it. We tend to forget the size of H21 --262 apartments. If it is 30% full as the leasing office claims. That is 78 apartments. The projections are for it to be full (and it will never be full because people will be coming and going, moving in and out) sometime in 2009. One would expect the retail scene to be very different by then.

very interesting

Mmmmmm?

I think that puting a park on Columbus avenue between the CCC and Columbus avenue is a good idea. There is plenty of parking without those spaces. A park would add beauty and value to the neighborhood until the CCC is expanded.

Here are some projects done by Ismael Leyva Architects. http://www.ilarch.com/projects/residential.html

Blackstone, Cars are an important part of any urban environment. Short term street parking, say a half-an-hour max, really helps businesses. The survival of the street level businesses is vital to this development. Eliminating cars would seriously hurt the retail component. Speeding traffic will not be an issue. This street is not a cut though to anywhere. It dead ends on both sides after two blocks. This will be a low speed, pedestrian heavy area. It is strikingly similar to LaSalle Road in West Hartford Center. There is no problem with the car/pedestrian mix there. Front Street would do well to duplicate its success. And forget Columbus Avenue becoming a pedestrian walkway, it won't happen.

Chipotle is owned by McDonald's. Not my idea idea of exclusive or high quality.

Thanks editor, much appreciated. The street parking is probably important for the retail component. It reminds me of the diagonal parking in West Hartford center. And that seems to work pretty well. If the speed limit is low and the traffic is broken by wide crosswalks, it should keep the area lively. Cars are not the enemy. The most important part of the project will be its quality.

I don't think the height of Front Street is as important as the quality of the development. If it's cheap like the student housing at Sage Allen, it will be a disaster. If it is first class, well built, high quality, it will be a success. We tend to hung up on towers. I like 'em too. But Hartford has a terrific skyline. It needs to fill in the city a bit. So that folks walking around the city discover areas of interest. Pratt Street is a great example. I was in Hartford on business with a friend from Virginia. When we turned the corner onto Pratt, he looked and said, this is like walking on a movie set. That's exactly what Front Street needs to be. A cool place.

Well, if YOU want to see it --- buy the paper.

There is no link. It is not on the net only in the actual paper.