Street Closure
Monday night, City Council adopted three resolutions that would change three streets in Hartford, entirely to accommodate the planned baseball stadium. Councilperson Deutsch and MacDonald were the only to vote “no” on all three of these items.
What does this mean for Downtown North?
The width of Pleasant Street will be reduced by five feet for a stretch of 850 feet.
The section of Trumbull Street between Market and Main will be moved 85 feet south.
Windsor Street, between Trumbull and Pleasant, will be closed off. That’s not just during construction — that’s permanent. Seen as one of the safer north-south routes for cyclists, this closure will create some inconvenience for bicycle commuters and other street users.
Nearby Ann Uccello Street became a cul-de-sac in 2013, as did Flower Street (Asylum Hill and Frog Hollow) last year. The latter was closed for reasons related to the CTfastrak; the former, apparently, happened with little fanfare. The closed segment of Ann Uccello Street is in the general Downtown North area.
Vote Early and Often
Tonight, the vote bounces back over to Planning and Zoning. Both the PZC and Hartford Redevelopment Agency are having to re-vote on stadium-related matters because the public was not given adequate notice. The public hearing related to stadium issues will not take place until 7 p.m. at 260 Constitution Plaza. The vote will include:
e. Proposed zoning amendments pertaining to: the sale of alcoholic beverages at stadiums (Section 878); special permit requirements of stadiums (Section 924); off-street parking and loading requirements for stadiums (Sections 954(a) and 957); signs for stadiums (Section 1008(b)); and fence height for stadiums (Section 1048(b)(3)). Applicant-City of Hartford
f. Proposed street relocation, narrowing or improvement in accordance with CGS Chapter 126, Section 8-29- Trumbull Street, Pleasant Street, and Ann Uccello Street-Applicant-City of Hartford Planning and Zoning Commission
g. Special Permit at 1214 Main St; 271, 273 Windsor St – new construction of a stadium in the B-1 district. Applicant – DoNo Hartford, LLC
h. Special Permit at 425, 426, 439, 450, 451, 463, 472-474, 479 Ann Uccello St; 214, 220, 226, 232, 234, 240 High St; 1261, 1267, 1269, 1269H Main St – new construction of a multiple residential unit development that will include townhouse units, apartment units and mixed uses in the B-1 and B-2 district. Applicant – DoNo Hartford, LLC
i. Special Permit at 1143, 1161, 1181-1183, 1185, 1189, 1209, 1213, 1229, 1243 Main St; 40, 44, 58 Chapel St – new construction of a multiple residential unit development that will contain a grocery store, fitness center and mixed uses in the B-1 district. Applicant- DoNo Hartford, LLC
j. Special Permit at 1212 Main St – new construction of a multiple residential unit development that will contain one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartment units, and mixed uses in the B-1 district. Applicant -DoNo Hartford, LLC
k. Special Permit at 150 Windsor St – new construction of a multiple residential unit development that will contain studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartment units and a brew pub and restaurant in the B-1 district. Applicant – DoNo Hartford, LLC
Parking
There has been some confusion over to what extent the developer will be required to create bicycle parking for the stadium. On social media, the Director of Development Services gave the impression that parking for non-motorized transportation would be non-negotiable:
But, in an email sent today, Deller said “The staff of the Department of Development Services is recommending that at least 1 bike parking space per hundred seats be required as part of this development.”
Will this be recommended or required?
There are also questions about motor vehicle matters. It has been reported that Mayor Segarra was seeking “ballpark parking, programming, and traffic issues assigned to respective CRDA committees.” CRDA has in recent days confirmed that it is not investing in or subsidizing the stadium.
Lizzee
As a friend recently pointed out, if Hartford commits to this project there will be no money for ANY OTHER good idea for the next 15-20 years. Have a cool idea? Need a few million to make it work? Sorry, we blew all that and more on this Stadium nonsense.
Vote out Segarra.
Joe
This city needs development. Without this the city of Hartford will never move forward. Status quo is not an option.
Kerri Provost
Since June, there have been studies discussed that show stadiums do nothing to seriously boost the economy. Is there a reason why development has to take the form of something that has been a proven failure? If this truly stimulated the economy, explain why New Britain is not leading the state in wealth.
Ken Krayeske
Last night, Planning and Zoning was prepared to vote no on the stadium proposal, without prejudice (which would allow the developer to resubmit). Instead, the developer withdrew the proposal, and will resubmit. The next hearing should be noticed some time in the next three weeks. Expect a hearing sometime between December 30 and January 8. In other words, Goliath retreated, David won another round.
Justin
I wonder if any of this has to do with them rushing the whole damn process so fast? Seems like shooting for a 2016 start for the Rock Cats in Hartford would have been a better play on the City’s part, right from the get-go. Though I guess even with 18 months of negotiating they couldn’t bring themselves to advocate for favorable terms for Hartford… Glad to hear that P&Z is willing to step in and push them a bit despite our Councilmembers by-and-large finding this too much to ask.
Kerri Provost
The developer is reportedly fine with going back and adding more details to the plan. The hyper-attention being paid to the deadline is basically coming from the City of Hartford.