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COMPLETED: Main and Temple Development (Sage-Allen Project)

Cotuit

By Cotuit
in Greater Hartford

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HartfordTycoon Town

HartfordTycoon

Posted
Posted
Update 17 January 2007

FYI, 21 of the 42 Townhouse units are signed off for occupancy and students are due to arrive this weekend (86 of 170 beds available - majority of available are spoken for).

Occupancy of the Sage Allen Building started 2 January 2007, the leases are just about at the 25% mark (18 or 19 of 78 as of this morning) which is really great - the units are being well received.

There may be some sort of a ribbon cutting ceromony for Temple Street on the last week of January - watch for an announcement (electricians/NU are trying to get the street lights fired up prior to the ceromony).

This photo shows Temple Street facing East from where the old Mix Master was as of today:

http://img95.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc00563zr8.jpg

The left (North) side of Temple is where the eateries are going in the very near future.

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MadVlad Town

MadVlad

Posted
Posted
Update 17 January 2007

FYI, 21 of the 42 Townhouse units are signed off for occupancy and students are due to arrive this weekend (86 of 170 beds available - majority of available are spoken for).

Occupancy of the Sage Allen Building started 2 January 2007, the leases are just about at the 25% mark (18 or 19 of 78 as of this morning) which is really great - the units are being well received.

There may be some sort of a ribbon cutting ceromony for Temple Street on the last week of January - watch for an announcement (electricians/NU are trying to get the street lights fired up prior to the ceromony).

This photo shows Temple Street facing East from where the old Mix Master was as of today:

http://img95.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc00563zr8.jpg

The left (North) side of Temple is where the eateries are going in the very near future.

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HartfordTycoon Town

HartfordTycoon

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I'm a University of Hartford student, moving into the townhouses on Saturday. Everyone seems to be knocking the fact that they face inward... but I think the issue is security; remember it is student living. Anyway, I'm very excited for this. I'll try to post some pictures of the complex and the inside here!
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MadVlad Town

MadVlad

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I'm a University of Hartford student, moving into the townhouses on Saturday. Everyone seems to be knocking the fact that they face inward... but I think the issue is security; remember it is student living. Anyway, I'm very excited for this. I'll try to post some pictures of the complex and the inside here!
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Luca Brasi Hamlet

Luca Brasi

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Spoke with some people from Capital Properties yesterday, the company that owns and manages Constitution Plaza. Their opinion of the townhouses was not favorable at all (they were appalled at the use of particle board, vinyl clad windows and cheap siding) and mentioned how this project completely failed to do anything at street level on Market St.

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MadVlad Town

MadVlad

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well they told us that the temple street side has a gate, opened with a card i think. and i think the only other access is to the parking garage.

and as far as using "cheap" materials... for students like me, these townhouses are amazing! Think about what we have on campus. anyone who's been on the UHa campus knows that the newest housing was built in the early 90s... and isn't that great. The price of the townhouses (with parking) is comparable to the "best" housing on campus, so its a great deal! And keep in mind, since these are designed for college students, they can't use top-notch materials all the time, or we'd be paying $1,500/month like the market rate apartments on main street. obviously thats not gonna happen :silly:

anyway, im not trying to argue anything. im very excited with what we're getting! and if you were in my shoes you would be too! haha.

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T52 Whistle-Stop

T52

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Space needles aren't going to help Hartford. More people downtown will.

I read posts about more retail being the key but if that is so, why did all the retail evaporate. Remember that up to about 1990, there was retail in the Sage Allen, Richardson, G.Fox , and the City insisted that Richard Gordon have 2 levels of retail in State House Square (that's just on the east side of Main between the I84 and State Street). Interesting to consider just how much retail has failed downtown. Just add people and that is exactly what this project does.

The largest concern that potential Downtown Hartford residents expressed about moving in was by far security assuming some parity of residential rates with options within a reasonable distance. The layout of this project offers a "gated community" approach to security that would not be possible with entrances on Temple without gates on Temple.

As for comments from adjacent property owners about plywood sheathing and vinyl windows on the townhouses, I once again offer that there weren't any other takers here. The City hired Architect Jim Vance to prepare a bid package for razing the site and creating another place for surface parking. The construction of all of the buildings on this site were constructed within the requirements of applicable codes which were more stringent than the coes that the adjacent buildings were constructed under. Again, there is less wood on that site today than there was in 2004 when demolition started.

It is interesting to note that the State House Square building is being sold for a cost per square foot number that is similar to the cost of constructing the Temple Street Garage.

This project is awsome from a program perspective, downtown revitalization perspective and once the to-be-completed features such as landscape and tile on the garage are installed (warmer weather), the exterior will be great as well.

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NewEnglandsTeam Unincorporated Area

NewEnglandsTeam

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I'm just glad another project was completed, which means it was viable. Unlike the Capewell Building and 101 Pearl and the YMCA Tower that won't happen as long as the market stays soft, everyone thinks those are great project, but guess what the numbers don't work. Too many projects in Hartford have been rumored to start then fail because the math doesn't work, cost/sf to construct doesn't bring in an adequate cost/sf for sale. Something that costs $220/sf (which isn't anything special) for a 2000 sf unt, would have to sell for over $600 K in this market for a lender to get on board, which probably wouldn't happen unless it's heavily subsidized by the state or the bank sees potential.

People here like to criticize someone for getting something done that otherwise wouldn't. No it's not ideal, I personally don't think it looks awful and neither will the surrounding business when the students and new tenants move in.

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MadVlad Town

MadVlad

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Posted
Space needles aren't going to help Hartford. More people downtown will.

I read posts about more retail being the key but if that is so, why did all the retail evaporate. Remember that up to about 1990, there was retail in the Sage Allen, Richardson, G.Fox , and the City insisted that Richard Gordon have 2 levels of retail in State House Square (that's just on the east side of Main between the I84 and State Street). Interesting to consider just how much retail has failed downtown. Just add people and that is exactly what this project does.

The largest concern that potential Downtown Hartford residents expressed about moving in was by far security assuming some parity of residential rates with options within a reasonable distance. The layout of this project offers a "gated community" approach to security that would not be possible with entrances on Temple without gates on Temple.

As for comments from adjacent property owners about plywood sheathing and vinyl windows on the townhouses, I once again offer that there weren't any other takers here. The City hired Architect Jim Vance to prepare a bid package for razing the site and creating another place for surface parking. The construction of all of the buildings on this site were constructed within the requirements of applicable codes which were more stringent than the coes that the adjacent buildings were constructed under. Again, there is less wood on that site today than there was in 2004 when demolition started.

It is interesting to note that the State House Square building is being sold for a cost per square foot number that is similar to the cost of constructing the Temple Street Garage.

This project is awsome from a program perspective, downtown revitalization perspective and once the to-be-completed features such as landscape and tile on the garage are installed (warmer weather), the exterior will be great as well.

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GHartford Whistle-Stop

GHartford

Posted
Posted
Spoke with some people from Capital Properties yesterday, the company that owns and manages Constitution Plaza. Their opinion of the townhouses was not favorable at all (they were appalled at the use of particle board, vinyl clad windows and cheap siding) and mentioned how this project completely failed to do anything at street level on Market St.
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JimSawhill Hamlet

JimSawhill

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Posted
Space needles aren't going to help Hartford. More people downtown will.

I read posts about more retail being the key but if that is so, why did all the retail evaporate. Remember that up to about 1990, there was retail in the Sage Allen, Richardson, G.Fox , and the City insisted that Richard Gordon have 2 levels of retail in State House Square (that's just on the east side of Main between the I84 and State Street). Interesting to consider just how much retail has failed downtown. Just add people and that is exactly what this project does.

The largest concern that potential Downtown Hartford residents expressed about moving in was by far security assuming some parity of residential rates with options within a reasonable distance. The layout of this project offers a "gated community" approach to security that would not be possible with entrances on Temple without gates on Temple.

As for comments from adjacent property owners about plywood sheathing and vinyl windows on the townhouses, I once again offer that there weren't any other takers here. The City hired Architect Jim Vance to prepare a bid package for razing the site and creating another place for surface parking. The construction of all of the buildings on this site were constructed within the requirements of applicable codes which were more stringent than the coes that the adjacent buildings were constructed under. Again, there is less wood on that site today than there was in 2004 when demolition started.

It is interesting to note that the State House Square building is being sold for a cost per square foot number that is similar to the cost of constructing the Temple Street Garage.

This project is awsome from a program perspective, downtown revitalization perspective and once the to-be-completed features such as landscape and tile on the garage are installed (warmer weather), the exterior will be great as well.

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