Luca Brasi
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Posts posted by Luca Brasi
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I agree VOR. If there is retail already signed for the UConn building, I'm willing to bet it's for a UConn bookstore.
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I drove by the site today. Crews were dismantling chain link fences and marking trees with orange ribbon I assume to differentiate which stay and which go.
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I believe that the Wadsworth cafe will front this street as well so you will not need to enter the museum to dine there. The rendering looks like the cafe will have outdoor seating facing the rink/fountain. What a great idea. A small glass coffee shop on the plaza and a Christmas tree during the holidays would complete this scene. What a great design.
I'm pretty sure the rink in Bushnell Park would go away if this were built since the plan for Bushnell Gardens includes a restaurant in that area.
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Drove by the east armory on 91 tonight. Two floors of the building were lit inside by construction lights so things are definitely underway here.
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Found it...
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As part of the IQuilt, the renderings I saw for that small street between the Travelers Plaza and the Wadsworth were amazing. the street was narrowed and the plaza was reconfigured to include a sizeable skating rink in the winter that would become a fountain in the warmer months. It reminded me of Rockefeller Center. Lets hope the funds are there (maybe a gift from Travelers?) to do this and it doesn't get passed over for lack of dollars. That would really tie the Front St area to Main St.
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A Mexican chain restaurant did sign a lease for the spot next to Infinity. There are two spots left at the existing Front St development. It will be interesting to see what happens with the retail at the apartment building and the UConn building
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They look to be the same height and in line with the windows on the front of the building. For security purposes (don't think they would want people moving freely from building to building), I'm going to guess they are windows.
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Couldn't agree more. For whatever reason, the people complaining and protesting everything want everything to stay the way it's been? Sorry, but the way it's been sucks. If they succeed in killing the stadium deal and preventing any resulting development from happening (like the Hooker Brewery), what is their plan B?? This is the best shot to right the wrongs of the 1960s that caused this wasteland of parking lots. When will the next opportunity present itself??
Sometimes I swear people say "no" just to feel that they have a voice.
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A built in tenant willing to take 50,000 sq ft certainly makes this project much more attractive for a private developer.
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You will also get year 'round daytime parking as well
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What people don't understand is that no one is building ANYTHING for the Rock Cats owners. The stadium is for the city and will be owned by the city. The baseball team will be paying rent to the city... five times what they are paying in New Britain. Uninformed people- are there are a lot on this subject- are under the impression the city is building and giving the Rock cats a stadium which is not the case at all. I'm pretty sure the city will make money off of concessions, parking, etc. Parking stands to be the biggest money maker year round.
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I had heard about a month or two ago that awful six story motel looking apartment building was getting approved by zoning and moving forward. Although no one likes the design and everyone feels the building should be much bigger, it's getting approved because something at this point is better than nothing.
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Walked down Prospect today, and the new apartment building is right up to the sidewalk. All other buildings (Hartford Club, Elks, Times) maintain a uniform street wall about 20 ft from the road. Weird that they designed it like this.and broke the continuity.
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So because a baseball stadium was announced for the lot across the street, plans for a badly needed supermarket are withdrawn?? This makes no sense..
http://touch.courant.com/#section/2224/article/p2p-80552808/
These lots have been vacant for decades. What makes the people developing the supermarket believe that will change without the stadium?? Plans for a supermarket with 4-5 floors of apartments above and ground floor retail in addition to the grocery store sound like a perfect fit to bring activity to this wasteland of parking. These two plans fill a huge void on the 12b site and the adjacent lot on Main. I don't get why it has to be one or the other. If the supermarket feels the stadium is displacing more apartments, there are plenty of lots in the immediate area to build on instead. Foot traffic and activity is never a bad thing. Hopefully there is still a way to get this done.
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Well that was quick...! Steel has already gone up.
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There is a a knee jerk reaction in the Hartford area to oppose everything.... Wynns casino complex, a downtown football stadium, the Griffin Line and any kind of mass transit, a new arena, the Convention Center, front St, etc. The list goes on and on. Sometimes people just like to say no. There is a lot of misconceptions that people are basing their opposition on.
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We can all hope. AAA baseball as we all know is a step below MLB. We will without question see many major leaguers who develop, rehab or journey between MLB and AAA. Virtually every major league star spends a good amount of time developing at the AAA level. This would be truly exciting to have downtown.
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Things are making more sense now. The LLC name change sounds an awful lot like someone has AAA baseball aspirations. The 10,000 seat 60 million dollar stadium at the intersection of 91, 84 and 2 and the bigger home city all add up. If they were content with staying AA, there is no real reason to leave New Britain who supported them for years. If it's true it's even more exciting because it is a BIG step up.
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Hi folks...I posted this on another message board a little while ago. (Not an urban planning board) Thought I might post it here as well. Let me know your thoughts.
"I'm Rock Cats fan and former season ticket holder and I'm still trying to figure out where I come down on this, but while the outlay by the city is expensive, there is something to consider. The city basically owns all of those parking lots, save for the one small lot that they are purchasing from Rennselear Hartford to complete the ballpark. Those lots have been virtually undeveloped my entire lifetime. Because they are isolated from the rest of the city, they've been seen as a sort of Bermuda triangle by developers.
But suddenly with a ballpark there, all sorts of opportunities there for development. For example, as an apartment developer, imagine being able to put up a mid or hi-rise type building with loft-like apartments that look into the ballpark? The ground floor of the building can have a sports bar or restaurant that caters to baseball fans as well as some of the new residents moving into the neighborhood. With a ballpark, there is the potential for the city to not only gain new tax revenue from new development, there is also the opportunity for increased money by selling those lots to developers for a higher price than what they are worth now.
People talk about the money that was spent on the Civic Center/XL Center within the vaccum of that building. But nobody seems to consider the construction that occurred around the building in the ensuing 15 years. CityPlace 1 &2, 1 Commercial, The "Stilts" Building, Goodwin Square, 242 Trumbull, 100 Pearl St. How much revenue do those buildings generate for the city that was there prior to 1975? Can you honestly say the Civic Center was unconnected to these developments? Why couldn't the same type of spin off happen here?
Finally, I'm somewhat baffled at what is in this for the Rock Cats, with the exception of a larger, nicer stadium, which I admit is significant. They are going to pay almost 5 times the rent of NB, contribute 10 percent toward construction, and share half of the naming rights and stadium advertising revenue with the city. To my knowledge, the city is offering them no guarantees of revenue - unlike the potential Patriots or Whalers deal. So aside from the city assuming the risk of the bonding, it looks like the team is assuming the risk to their business operation. Not to mention, they have risked alienating a significant chunk of their fan base. I've never seen a sports franchise owner agree to such terms."
Its called "seeing the big picture" which many in the suburbs fail to do. I too see the ignorant comments about misconceptions regarding lack of parking, rampant crime and the waste of tax dollars on Hartford. I've been doing business downtown for 15 years and lived in Hartford for 20 years and I've never been mugged, shot or stabbed. Never even had my car broken into. Imagine that.
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I wouldnt put any stock in what that lunatic Krayeske writes. He is ultra liberal bordering on communist and used to be a staff writer for the Advocate. His main objective was bashing the mainstream and conservatives so of course he would oppose something like this. Who cares. Its money well spent for the enjoyment of those in Hartford and the surrounding areas. It if was up to people like him, there would be no XL Center, no Rentshler Field, no baseball field and no fun. Why cant people who pay taxes enjoy their tax dollars? Maybe 30 years more of dirt parking lots is better for the city than something tangible that can be enjoyed by the same people who enjoy concerts, sporting events, the circus, etc.? And what about the people who will work there? I hate thinking like his. In bigger cities, these things arent even questioned because its for the good of the community. It reminds me of how all the politicians "saved" Hartford from Steve Wynn and his casino complex in the early 90s for the same area of Hartford. 20 years later we still have the same parking lots and no development. Like things are so much better now...
Anyway, I hope that there is some kind of development plan that goes along with this stadium. Maybe apartments in the building beyond left field? It would be an easy sell for baseball fans to sit on their terrace and enjoy a baseball game with friends. Housing for players? I would hate to see the stadium built without some plan for the surrounding area.
And I agree with most about the comments on the Courant site. Its ridiculous. We will just have to move forward as a community from the small minds who state they fear "being shot" or those "lurking in the shadows" on every street corner. Some people are just idiots. And for the people complaining about Hartford "stealing" New Britain's team, how is it any different than when New Britain 'stole" Bristol's team? Management has made the decision to move and Hartford stepped up to keep professional baseball in state. Grow up people.
And should this all actually happen, I really like the name "Hartford Dark Blues" who were a charter member of MLB's National League in the 1870's.
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What are all those buildings in the renderings? Is this part of a planned development? Or just wishful thinking for the future? I'm also starting to wonder if triple A baseball is the ultimate goal. Hartford could support it and the venue looks more in line with a bigger and better brand of baseball. I really like the idea of the skyline being visible.
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I first heard about this late last year when the proposed site was on Market St and the whole thing had been kept quiet. I was unaware the site had been moved to Main and Trumbull. I think it's a great idea and a great location. I also think this is much further along than the mayor of New Britain thinks.
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No doubt the stadium downtown was for UConn football as well. Games against BC, Syracuse, Rutgers, West Virginia etc. would have all been downtown. Between UConn and the Patriots, Hotels would have been sold out virtually every weekend.
IN PROGRESS: 777 Main Street Residential Redevelopment
in Greater Hartford
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CVS will moving from their present location to a bigger one at 777 Main.